Synopsis
In Kayah State, Myanmar, for over 60 years, different ethnic armed groups have been fighting the Burmese Army in a war for freedom and independence. A group of war veterans have opened an artificial leg workshop constructing a hundred legs per year for fellow veterans with the same stroke of fate - leaving ethnic differences behind.
Credits
Director: Khon Soe Moe Aung
Cinematographer: Naw Eh Shee Paw
Sound Recordist: Bawk Seng
Editor: Zin Mar Oo
Category
Technical Details
Duration: 10‘2‘‘
Director's Statement
For over sixty years, my home of Kayah State in Myanmar has been engaged in civil war. This conflict has led to many kinds of human rights abuses; the people of Kayah have lost the right to freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of work and freedom to practice their beliefs, to name a few. Prolonged civil war has meant that a whole generation has been isolated; this is a generation that does not have access to decent educational opportunities, healthcare, or ways of making a decent living amongst many other things. Everyone involved in the conflict is sick of war: both the soldiers of various ethnic armed groups but also the Burmese Army. Everyone in Kayah yearns for peace and for the well-being of our society and future generations.
A group of soldiers of the former Karenni Nationalities People Liberation Front’s (KNPLF) have set up an artificial limb workshop near the city of Loikaw. Here they make artificial legs for people who have lost their legs as a result of the fighting – regardless of which side of the conflict they were on. The people who run the workshop are also amputees. These men really inspired me. In the past, soldiers from ethnic groups such as the KNPLF and the KNPP (Karenni National Progressive Party) and Burmese soldiers fought each other bitterly; many lost their lives. Those who lost limbs now come to this prosthetics workshop. They show empathy towards each other and help each other overcome their disabilities. I believe that making a film is a powerful way to express the desire for peace. We don’t need words because we can see in the faces of the protagonists just how much they want peace – as does everyone in Kayah.
Director's Biography
Born in 1989 in Myanmar’s conflicted Kayah State, Khon Soe Moe Aung is a passionate human rights activist. Since making his first documentary My Leg during a Yangon Film School documentary filmmaking course held jointly with Search for Common Ground in 2014, he divides his time between working for Kayah Earthrights Action Network and sharing his new-found documentary skills with community activists. He is currently researching a longer format documentary In the Dark with the support of a Yangon Film School Fellowship. My Leg won a Special Mention Award at Exground International Film Festival in Wiesbaden, Germany in 2015.
Awards & Nominations
September, 2021
May, 2018
November, 2015
Screenings
Director's Filmography
Director
10‘2‘‘
