Puppets Beyond Borders (38’27”)

 
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.

The Elysée performance project Puppets Beyond Borders was organised and financed by the Goethe-Institut Indonesien and the Institut Français with Elysée funding

Co-produced by the Yangon Film School, a non-profit organisation dedicated to developing a diverse media culture in Myanmar and M.E.T.A Media Education and Training Academy
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

 
Credits
 
Director / Sound Recordist / Editor
Hnin Ei Hlaing

Co-Director / Cinematographer
Tha Piseth

Additional Camera Cambodia
Lach Chantha
Sao Sopheak

Sound Recordist Cambodia
Lach Pov


Second Unit Camera Myanmar
Kyaw Ko Ko

Additional Camera Myanmar
Khin Maung Kyaw

Additional Sound Myanmar
Sai Kong Kham

With

Artistic Director ‘Puppets without Borders’
Manuel Lutgenhorst

Puppeteers

Royal University of Fine Arts / Cambodia
An Chhea Heng Keo
Dorivan Pok
Sarann Sinn Samy

Les Remouleurs / France
Olivier Vallet
Bérénice Guénée
Anne Bitran

 
Biography

Born in Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State in 1985, Hnin Ei Hlaing entered the film industry with a diploma in computer art with the Forever Group and subsequently worked as an editor for MRTV4. Since joining YFS in 2006 she has worked as a regular sound recordist and/or editor on a number of YFS productions (including An Untitled Life, The Change Maker and A Bright Future). She says she knew nothing about Myanmar’s gay scene before deciding to make this portrait of her hairdresser. Burmese Butterfly marks her first film as a director. Hnin Ei Hlaing is currently working as Production Manager in the Yangon Film School’s management team in Yangon, where she oversees crew hire and the production of commissioned documentaries. She is also working on a new observational documentary of her own, about a family of potters.

 
Filmography

2013 Puppets Beyond Borders (38’27”, director, sound recordist, editor)

2011 Burmese Butterfly (12’03”, director, editor, sound recordist)

2011 The Bamboo Grove (18’42”, editor)

2011 Bungkus (18’50”, sound recordist)

2011 Respectful Encounters (17’17”, editor, sound recordist)

2011 Rice – Towards a better Future (32’17”, sound recordist)

2011 On Holiday (19′, sound recordist)

2011 Falling Blossom (5’49”, editor, sound recordist)

2010 A Bright Future (15’21”, sound recordist)

2009 Killing Time (10’18”, editor)

2008 An Untitled Life (22’08”, sound recordist)

2008 The Change Maker (15’59”, sound recordist)