Rays of Hope

Synopsis

Made for the NGO Association François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) active in Myanmar since 1993, this short documentary tells the story of 23-year-old Ohmar Kyaw, who lives with her parents and seven siblings in Hlaing Thar Yar on the outskirts of Yangon. As a teenager, she worked crippling twelve-hour shifts in a garment factory in order to support her large family. In her own touching words, Ohmar Kyaw describes the impact that FXB's vocational programmes are having on needy young people such as herself.

Director's Biography

Aung Nwai Htway is from Yangon. He began his career working for the NGO Population Services International (PSI) as an editor. Having joined Yangon Film School in 2006, in 2007 he tried his hand at directing for the first time with the short documentary A Piece of Eden, about a young boy suffering from muscular dystrophy. Developed with YFS, his 2012 documentary Behind the Screen is his most personal film and tells the painful story of his parents’ divorce, both of whom were Burmese film stars in the 1960s and 70s. This moving work won awards at Yangon’s Wathann Filmfest and at Salaya International Documentary Film Festival in Thailand; it also screened to acclaim at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Director's Filmography

2007

Director & Editor

15‘36‘‘

2008
Rays Of Hope

Director/Editor

15‘56‘‘

2008
After the Nargis

Editor

25‘0‘‘

2009
Our Forests, Our Future

Editor

23‘15‘‘

2010
Landing on the Beautiful Land

Director/Cinematographer/Sound/Editor

22‘0‘‘

2012

xDirector/Editor/Screenwriter

35‘0‘‘

2013
Escape from the Dead End

Director/Cinematographer/Editor

25‘0‘‘

2016
In Exile

Editor

72‘0‘‘