Return to Burma (Gui lái dí rén)

Dir. Midi Z. Taiwan, Myanmar. 2011, 85 mins. In Mandarin, Yunnan dialect, with English subtitles. In anticipation of Myanmar’s first democratic presidential election, Xing-hong, a Burmese construction worker in Taiwan, returns home hoping that change will come to his country. Return to Burma was the first feature shot in Myanmar, where the first presidential election had just taken place. Yet democracy was far from thriving, and the government only allowed limited foreign press into the country. As a result, Midi Z had to shoot this semi-autobiographical homecoming story without official permission, and only minimal equipment and crew.

Order and watch the film online here (tickets: $5).

A series pass for all films in Six Films by Midi Z is available for $30 ($25 MoMI members).