Synopsis
At the end of 2011, puppeteers from Germany, France, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia came together at Chiang Mai venue ‘Empty Space’ in northern Thailand for a workshop led by German director Manuel Lutgenhorst. The groups were asked to create a new collaborative piece to be performed in Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh and Yangon, exploring the topic of ‘home’. Filmed by a Burmese-Cambodian crew, Puppets Beyond Borders follows these Asian and European troupes as they prepare their pieces and encounter each other’s rich and diverse puppetry traditions – from shadow play to glove puppets and marionettes – and takes a look at the players’ innovative approaches to reinterpreting their art for today’s audiences.
Director's Biography
Born in Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State in 1985, Hnin Ei Hlaing began her film career working as an editor for MRTV4. Joining the second YFS cohort in 2006, she soon became something of an all-rounder, working as a regular sound recordist and/or editor on many YFS productions including An Untitled Life, The Change Maker and A Bright Future. Her own directorial debut Burmese Butterfly, about a young transgender person in Myanmar, screened at over 20 film festivals around the world. This was followed by The Potter’s Song about a community of potters in Twante near Yangon, and a ground-breaking exploration of menstrual mood swings, Period@Period. Filmed over six years in conflicted Rakhine State, her first feature-length documentary Midwives chronicles the unusual friendship between two birth attendants – one Buddhist-Rakhine, the other Muslim-Rohingya. The film has screened at major festivals and picked up awards at Sundance and in the Czech Republic, among others.
Director's Filmography
Director
91‘0‘‘
Editor
18‘19‘‘
Director
8‘10‘‘
Director/Cinematographer/Sound Recordist/Editor
12‘3‘‘
Sound Recordist
19‘0‘‘
Editor/Sound Recordist
5‘49‘‘
Sound Recordist
17‘17‘‘
Sound Recordist
32‘17‘‘
Sound Recordist
22‘8‘‘
Sound Recordist
15‘59‘‘
