Producer
Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.
Screenplay
Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.
Editor
Wang Shin-hong is suffering from insomnia. A fortune teller advises the Mandalay businessman, whose car and bulging wallet suggest that business is going pretty well, to spend 14 days in a monastery, living life as a monk and eating an apple a day. Such a thing is possible in Burma today. Wang Shin-hong arrives at the rural monastery, has his head shaved and dons a red robe, in which he instantly becomes an authority. During the welcome procession, the village women, their poverty clear from their clothing and the huts in the background, put more than they have in his alms bowl. During his fleeting role as their advisor, Wang Shin-hong soon learns of the villagers’ attempts to survive and make a living as legal or illegal migrants in China, Thailand or Malaysia. He also finds out how the other monks try to generate profit and additional income.
Editor
Midi Z visits his oncle who works as a jade miner.
Producer
Midi Z visits his oncle who works as a jade miner.
Editor
A fascinating documentary, shot in the mountainous north of Burma. No filmmaker is welcome there, because, against the background of a civil war, the jade miners enter the deserted mines illegally. With the aid of filming locals, however, Midi Z was able to compile this portrait. Getting rich quick turns out to be hard and risky work Jade has always been a valuable commodity in Asia. In the mountains in the north of Burma there are valuable deposits of jade. The area forms part of Kachin State, inhabited by many ethnic groups which found themselves embroiled in the Civil War in 2010 with the Burmese government. Jade mining was halted because of the conflict. Thousands of workers, however, went to the war zone in order to dig for illegal jade. It turned the region into a no-go area and the filmmaker Midi Z, who had so far made feature films in Burma, saw no opportunity to go and film there. It was far too dangerous. © iffr.com
Editor
산에서 옥수수 농사로 근근히 먹고 사는 젊은 농부와 그의 아버지. 생활고에 시달리던 그들은 옥 광산과 아편농장에서 일하는 친척에게 돈을 빌리기 위해 마을로 내려간다. 하지만 문서분실과 사기, 부패에 시달리며 항상 가난에 시달려야 했다. 수소문 끝에 아버지는 아들을 위해 소를 담보로 오토바이 살 돈을 빌린다. 아들의 오토바이의 첫 손님은 산메이다. 그녀는 할아버지가 사망하여 급히 미얀마로 돌아 온 참이다. 고향인 미얀마에 정착하기 위해 국제결혼으로부터 벗어 날 결심을 하는 그녀. 마약 운반책 일을 맡게 된 산메이는 오토바이 주인인 젊은 농부에게 자신의 기사가 되어 주길 설득한다.
Editor
Simple, yet complex. A man (favourite actor Wang Shin-hong) meets a woman (standard actor Wu Ke-xi) on a moored ship, a sort of floating palace decorated like a Buddhist temple. The woman or her spirit struggles with her memories and the man takes on the form of a Buddhist monk in his next life. Complex and yet simple. The man, the woman and the camera move gracefully 'dancing' through the space. Only the thought of escape.
Editor
After decades of military rule, Burma has finally held its first presidential election. Many Burmese living abroad believe that peace and prosperity will soon soon follow, including Wang Xing-Hong who is living as an immigrant laborer in Taiwan and saves his money so he can return home. When Xing-hong arrives, he feels like a stranger in a foreign land but is determined to stay and make his life in Burma.
Director
An independent filmmaker and a social activist, Wen tries to stop a politician’s car. The car dashes ahead, and he gets stuck on the bonnet. He wants to die of protesting, but when another guy jumps onto the bonnet, he starts to think about how to help both parties survive.
