Cultural Workers for Myanmar: Solidarity Glitch and Flicker

On March 28th, 2025, at approximately 12:50 pm local time, a powerful 7.7 earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, home to 1.2 million people; it also resulted in intense shaking that devastated the region as far away as Bangkok, Thailand. More than 3,000 lives have been killed and a hundred temples, mosques, nunneries and monasteries were reduced to rubble. These places used to offer education, dispense medicine, care for the elderly and house displaced orphans. While the number of losses is still increasing and uncertain, we would like to contribute what we can as cultural workers.

NIGHT of SOLIDARITY GLITCH

Friday, 11 April 2025
23:00 (UTC +10) / 21:00 (UTC+8) / 15:00 (UTC+2)
* Online event, please e-mail assembly@blackbook.page or message on IG for link

The fifth issue of the Black Book Assembly More-Than-Half-a-Year-in-Review calls from the theme “The End of Imitation”, and includes contributions from Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Naarm, Seoul, Brighton, Rotterdam, Yangon, Jaffna, Phnom Penh, Aotearoa, Seattle, and more. Editor Rigby will introduce the issue and glitch in with a casual dialogue engaging some of the contributors, including Anarco Anuj of the Black Book Distro in Nepal, and Gulsse of the Little Black Book Club in Seoul.

Raising our fingers in continued salute to Myanmar, we hand over the session to Min Ma Naing, a Myanmar exile artist who will share about the ongoing Burmese Spring , still struggling under the rubble of the May 28th earthquake devastation.

The Black Book Assembly zine #5 can be downloaded for free here, and printed copies will be sold during our meeting to gather support for earthquake relief funds.

Then questions, then closing.

 

NIGHT of SOLIDARITY FLICKER

Wednesday, 16 April 2025
20:30-22:00 (UTC+8)
* RSVP for address via 1930
Tickets: At the door, please show a receipt of the ticket amount (HK$250) as a donation to an earthquake relief mutual aid fund of your choice from this list: https://tinyurl.com/MutualAidForMyanmar

Our night is composed of a documentary feature and a documentary short film, followed by a moderated Q&A session with the filmmaker Lamin OO (online) and Francis, and ends with a prayer and music. Our sincere gratitude goes to the filmmakers who willingly shared their works and to Francis who made time and space in this difficult time.

Midwives (2022) 1’32” , directed by  Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
The Rohingya are a primarily Muslim minority community who are
confined to a small region in Western Myanmar with barely any
access to services and who are being persecuted by the
Buddhist majority. The film portrays two midwives, one Buddhist
and one Muslim, who defy the brutal ethnic divide while working
side by side in a makeshift medical clinic. This healthcare centre is
one of the only services available to the Rohingya population in
the area. The film observes the two women’s daily struggles and
their ongoing efforts to provide care amidst the chaos, violence
and intolerance.

A Peaceful Land (2016) 21″ , by Sai Kong Kham and Lamin Oo
In 2005, Myanmar’s military government launched a radical
biodiesel campaign, forcing farmers to plant Physic Nut trees
under threat of land confiscation and forced labour. Defying the
junta’s oppression, four farmers from Nat Mauk risk everything to
fight for their rights in a powerful story of resistance and loss.

 

 

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Francis is of Mon-Burmese descent and a native resident of Yangon. He lived through the military junta era, the democratic transition in 2010, and the NLD government. Since 2019, he has been an advocate for youth empowerment and civic education in Myanmar, engaging in teaching, public speaking, and collaborations at both national and international levels. Currently, he serves as a Regional Executive Member of the ASEAN Youth Forum, representing Myanmar’s youth leaders and communities.

Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing has worked as a freelance filmmaker in Myanmar since 2006, acting as director, producer, editor, and sound recordist after attending film schools in both Myanmar and Germany.

Born in 1985, Sai Kong Kham began working as a sound engineer at various radio stations in Myanmar, and he decided to pursue a career in filmmaking and enrolled at Yangon Film School in 2011. His debut documentary, _Sweetie Pie_, went on to screen at a number of international film festivals including Visions du réel, and the Sehsüchte student film festival in Germany. He founded the film production company Tagu Films with fellow Yangon Film School alumnus Khin Maung Kyaw, and is a regular creator of documentaries and shorts, several of which have won awards.

Min Ma Naing, a Myanmar exile artist based in Berlin. She began her career as a photojournalist and later shifted toward a slower (human paced) contemporary documentary practice. Her work extends beyond image-making; she uses photobooks as art objects, inviting viewers into intimate encounters with her narratives.

Lamin Oo, born and raised in Myanmar, is a documentary filmmaker based in Yangon. He graduated from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, with a degree in Psychology and Philosophy. Since returning to Myanmar in 2013, Lamin has dedicated himself to documentary filmmaking with his team at Tagu Films. Francis is of Mon-Burmese descent and a native resident of Yangon. He lived through the military junta era, the democratic transition in 2010, and the NLD government. Since 2019, he has been an advocate for youth empowerment and civic education in Myanmar, engaging in teaching, public speaking, and collaborations at both national and international levels. Currently, he serves as a Regional Executive Member of the ASEAN Youth Forum, representing Myanmar’s youth leaders and communities.