Synopsis
Journalist Yann Aung Htun is determined to give a voice to ordinary people in Kachin State in Myanmar – in spite of ongoing armed conflict. This moving portrait shows how he is affected by his reporting, but also how the space in which he is able to work is shrinking.
Director's Statement
I directed the documentary Kachin Reporter in 2019. The film is about a freelance reporter from Kachin State. Although he's not himself Kachin, but Bamar, he moved to Myitkyina to work as a reporter and bring news from places that are hard to reach and not otherwise covered in the news.
I made this film because I wanted to describe this reporter’s dedication to his job and the struggles of the people of conflicted Kachin State. I felt it was important to tell audiences about the challenges faced by a reporter working in this underexposed part of the country.
Director's Biography
Seint Yamone Htoo (born in 1991) is from Yangon. After graduating from Yangon’s Yadanabon University with a maths major she then took a diploma in music (violin) from the National University of Arts and Culture (NUAC) in the same city. She subsequently worked as a reporter for CNB News (Mandalay) and a video journalist for Up To Date online channel for almost 5 years before her burning desire to make documentaries prompted her to join YFS in 2018. During her studies at YFS she has worked on a number of collaborative projects, including an animated documentary Riding Through the Waves. Made entirely from textiles, the film describes the protagonist’s memories of peaceful co-existence between people of different religions and ethnicities his home town in the Ayeyarwaddy delta. Seint Yamone Htoo has also co-directed a short fictional film Midtown Yangon which features a non-professional cast. Kachin Reporter for which she received a Goethe-Institut Myanmar documentary award, is her first documentary as a director.
Awards & Nominations
Director's Filmography
Director
16‘36‘‘
Animation
4‘23‘‘