A Burmese mahout and his beloved pachyderm
Synopsis
U Myo Aung, 48, is employed by the government as a mahout at an elephant camp in Bago region in eastern Myanmar. Sitt Khaing Hla is the 24-year-old female elephant in his care. The two have developed a close relationship in the past ten years of working together. Now, at the end of the dry season, the water level at the bathing pond is getting low. Everyone – humans and pachyderms – is looking forward to the rains. U Myo Aung’s son July Myo is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and contribute to his family’s meagre income. In a few years he will start taking care of Sitt Khaing Hla’s little elephant son. ‘When I start working, Mum can relax’, hopes July Myo.
Director's Biography
Nyan Lynn Aung (born in 1996) is from Myitnge, south of Mandalay, Myanmar. He was a third-year student of Physics in Yadanabon University when his interest in photography prompted him to join a Yangon Photo Festival workshop in 2019. His photo-story ‘Milk for All’ encouraged religious diversity and social harmony. Having enrolled at Yangon Film School in 2022, he is now able to extend his interest in visual media in order to explore the moving image. Living with Elephants is his first film as a director.
Director's Filmography
2023
Living with Elephants
Director
25‘0‘‘
