Burmese Dreaming http://burmesedreaming.org Burmese Dreaming, a film about the dreams, day dreams, and nightmares of a girl from a far away land Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:59:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Audience Comment, Burmese Dreaming http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/11/audience-comment-burmese-dreaming/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=audience-comment-burmese-dreaming http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/11/audience-comment-burmese-dreaming/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:59:40 +0000 tim http://burmesedreaming.org/?p=648 I have just seen a screening of Timothy Syrota’s documentary called Burmese Dreaming. I had previously seen Tim’s photography from Burma at a charity auction just a couple of years ago & was impressed with his work so jumped at the chance to see his film.

The documentary was amazing. A lot of the footage he took when in Burma was confiscated by the military, so when he came back to Australia many of the ‘chapters’ of his story were missing. He has managed to brilliantly piece together what was left with the narrator, a Burmese refugee girl, guiding you through everyday life in the country. I highly recommend people see this documentary.

Clare Hartley, Australia

]]> http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/11/audience-comment-burmese-dreaming/feed/ 0 Two and a half nods better than a slap in the face with a wet kipper for Burmese Dreaming. http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/10/two-and-a-half-nods-better-than-a-slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-kipper-for-burmese-dreaming/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=two-and-a-half-nods-better-than-a-slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-kipper-for-burmese-dreaming http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/10/two-and-a-half-nods-better-than-a-slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-kipper-for-burmese-dreaming/#comments Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:58:24 +0000 tim http://burmesedreaming.org/?p=635 So, the buzz on Burmese Dreaming … nope, it wasn’t just one of those weeks but instead it was one of those other weeks, the better ones which don’t leave you wandering around wondering where the heck it is all heading, if it’s in fact heading anywhere, and whether or not ‘anywhere’ is where you wanted it to be heading anyway. No, not one of those weeks. Instead, it was a week with two and a half yes’ which is a lot in the life of Burmese Dreaming where a yes of one sort or another seems to come about every six months. So a downpour of affirmation, all things being relative. Anyway, first drops dripped down early in the week with Burmese Dreaming being accepted for Showcase screening at the Lucerne (Switzerland) International Film Festival. What’s a Showcase – erm, yes, that’s where the public queuing in the auditorium can see your film whilst they are waiting to get into the film they actually want to see and then, if they want, when they have finished with that film, they can look you up in the catalogue and watch your film in a private viewing room (sounds sordid). Anyway, that was the half a nod which is, no doubt, better than that wet kipper being slapped around your chops. BUt then more. Later in the week, the Emerge festival in Victoria, Australia said yes to Burmese Dreaming screening there next year in June. The home town might love me a little bit after all! Then, finally, on Friday and to cap it all off, Burmese Dreaming was accepted for screening at the Diaspora Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, where it will be screened as part of a ‘special’ evening along with another documentary focusing on Burma. Rockin’ good news. And lets stick with that, otherwise missives will degenerate into “Good God, why the hell can’t I get this film project up on my computer anymore. Awesome, there it is. And now why won’t it export. How can I even take myself seriously?” Or we could get into discussing the prohibitive costs of producing master tapes for cinema screening, apparently a process which is going to take less than an hour and about $200 of stock is going to cost $6,000 as a starting price, going up in increments of pounds of flesh. “Hey-multi-mogul-film-industry-mega-dollar-sods-who-bill-at-ridiculous-rates, no there is no Burmese Dreaming Metro Goldwyn Mayer credit and thank you for being so helpful to the independent film maker. Sadly, this state of affairs may well mean that Burmese Dreaming will not have its Australian debut screening in Greater Union cinemas in Sydney in November. Damn shame but overall, minor hiccups in an otherwise happy week for Burmese Dreaming. Peace, Timothy

]]> http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/10/two-and-a-half-nods-better-than-a-slap-in-the-face-with-a-wet-kipper-for-burmese-dreaming/feed/ 0 Gone in 4 hours and 36 seconds http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/08/gone-in-4-hours-and-36-seconds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gone-in-4-hours-and-36-seconds http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/08/gone-in-4-hours-and-36-seconds/#comments Sat, 20 Aug 2011 05:48:08 +0000 tim http://burmesedreaming.org/?p=628 The latest buzz on the Burmese Dreaming front – it came, it went, panic set in, and now it is coming back. Yes, Burmese Dreaming went down with a MacBook Pro in spectacular fashion, leaving few if any traces on a plethora of drives that line up like so many elephants holding each others tails. Cheers to Gili, an Israeli, Bangkok-based surgeon of the electronic type who spoke
confidently of extracting data from the ashes of hard drives burnt in house fires and shot up by semi automatic weapons. No explanation of the circumstances concerning the later. And so Burmese Dreaming is on its way back. And none too soon: there are current inquiries concerning cinema screenings in Sydney, Melbourne and Manchester. Coolio coolio but I was beginning to feel a bit like a fool-io as I have been playing for time trying to get a copy of Burmese Dreaming through. Any copy, from anywhere, other than one from 4 years ago which boasted a plagiarized Buddha Bar sound track and was in breach of at least 8 rules of international copyright law. So, yes, monsieur fool-io, if the shoe fits, wear it and to avoid further egg on the proverbial tootsies, there is only one word …. BACKUP.

]]> http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/08/gone-in-4-hours-and-36-seconds/feed/ 0 ‘Burmese Dreaming’ Offers Glimpse of a Country Lost http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/07/burmese-dreaming-offers-a-glimpse-of-a-country-lost/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=burmese-dreaming-offers-a-glimpse-of-a-country-lost http://burmesedreaming.org/2011/07/burmese-dreaming-offers-a-glimpse-of-a-country-lost/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:40:21 +0000 tim http://burmesedreaming.org/?p=616 Tuesday, 26 July 2011 09:47 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Only in dreams can Say Say La return to the life she once had in Burma. She recollects life on her family’s farm and her favourite buffalo, a simple narrative until at the age of five when the Burmese authorities imprisoned her and killed her father.

“Burmese Dreaming” tells a story about Burma through the eyes of a small girl living in a refugee camp in Thailand and the tales of other refugees who return to their homeland — but only in their dreams.

The documentary is “creative nonfiction” conveying the true tales of Say Say La and the troubles many Burmese people face — whether Burmans or ethnic people—when they find themselves in trouble with the Burmese authorities… Read Full Article

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