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

The details:
Toronto screening: 5th November, 7pm, Innis Town Hall‎, 2 Sussex Avenue Toronto http://diasporafilmfest.com/

Sydney Screening: 9th November, 7pm, Event Cinemas, George Street, in association with the Bill Crews Charitable Trust For bookings click here

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

In this context, Mr Syrota says, ‘Out of thousands of annual submissions, Ostrow & Company only take on a handful of films each year. For a first time documentary director it is very flattering to be represented by a firm that also represents the likes of Mark Wahlberg’s production company Chance Films, as well as films and documentaries involving identities such as Meryl Streep and Michael Moore.’

Just as art often elicites emotional as well as intellectual responses, so too does Burmese Dreaming engage an audience on a deep emotional level. Employing a simple, story telling approach the film has been described as a documentary poem because of the way that it combines a fully composed musical score, a lyrical narrative and beautiful cinematography.

Says Mr Syrota, ‘In early conferences, I expressed my concerns that this approach might be an impediment to Ostrow & Company being able to successfully market the film but executives at the company said that it was these elements that had made the company interested in the film in the first place.’

Burmese Dreaming is based on the story of a girl from Burma who was taken from her family and imprisoned, alone, by the Burmese military at the age of five. Displaying a remarkable ability to see both the happiness as well as the hardship of her life, the girl tells her story through a series of dreams and reflections. ‘I wake up,’ she says. ‘I am in a refugee camp on Thailand-Burma border. I have been here for five years but still my mind is not here. It is in a life of dreams and daydreams and thoughts about my country.’ And so Burmese Dreaming alternates between scenes from the refugee camps and scenes filmed throughout Burma, a country in which independent media is strictly prohibited.

Burmese Dreaming made its world premiere at the United Nations ‘We the People’s Film Festival’ London, UK, and had its North American premiere at the Buffalo-Niagara International Film Festival. Burmese Dreaming has won international acclaim from dignitaries supporting human rights including the family of Nobel Peace Laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Indeed the family personally requested that the film be screened at the Brighton Arts Festival at which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was the guest artistic director (in absentia).

Says Mr Paul Copeland, Member of the Order of Canada and member of the advisory board of the Canadian Friends of Burma: ‘I read a great deal about Burma and have seen many documentaries concerning the situation in the country. Burmese Dreaming is one of the finest documentaries I have seen on Burma. The visual images of the country in the film are stunningly beautiful and for me capture the reality of the Burma I know.’

In working in association with Ostrow & Company, Mr Syrota looks forward to the prospect of potentially forming a long standing relationship which will allow him to continue making films whilst an expert in the field deals with the ‘nitty-gritty-role-your-sleeves-up’ business side of marketing and distribution.

‘For me, it was this that clinched the deal,’ says Mr Syrota, ‘I recognized that working with Ostrow & Company was a huge opportunity for Burmese Dreaming. Had I have turned it down, I could have seen myself in ten years sitting and scratching my head and wondering what might have been and that’s not a position I want to be in.’