Film, Media & Entertainment
Filmmaking in Myanmar: Past, Present, Future
This evening of screenings and discussion brings together filmmakers who have worked extensively in and with Myanmar, alongside emerging voices currently making films inside the country.
Across the evening, three short films produced under the British Council’s Connections Through Culture Programme 2025–26 will be screened. These will be interspersed with a panel discussion examining filmmaking in Myanmar past and present, and asking what role filmmaking can play in the country’s future.
The focus is not only on the challenges of working under censorship, conflict, and instability, but also on why filmmaking remains vital, urgent, and a source of hope in difficult times.
The event offers audiences rare insight into contemporary Myanmar through the eyes of filmmakers working in extraordinary circumstances.
The programme will showcase three short films developed through the Akhat Alat Post-Production Support Programme. All films are under 20 minutes and offer intimate, ground-level perspectives on daily life in Myanmar today.
Richard Shannon (Chair). Richard is a playwright, radio drama director and lecturer, working mainly in theatre and radio. He read English at New College, Oxford and studied theatre direction at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was Head of Audio at Goldsmiths, University of London. Richard was also the Chair of the Myanmar Group at Goldsmiths.
Nay Wunn Ni is a filmmaker based in Yangon. Her debut short Late Summer Day won Best Acting Award at the 2020 Wathann Film Festival, and her feature project City Birds was selected for the Myanmar Script Fund and the Locarno Open Doors Lab. In 2021, she founded Akhat Alat, a filmmaker-led initiative supporting independent film projects in Myanmar, producing short films screened internationally. Her recent work includes producing Thirty (Jio MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival) and directing We Missed a Sunset, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival.
Sai is a Burmese multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work confronts political turmoil, conflict, and personal loss under Myanmar’s military rule. Using photography, installation, video, and moving image, his practice bridges visual art and documentary storytelling to bear witness to lived realities in Myanmar since the 2021 coup. Sai co-created the documentary 'Please Enjoy Our Tragedies', and has presented his work internationally, including exhibitions at Goldsmiths University, the Venice Biennale, and group shows across Europe and Asia. He often works under an alias for safety reasons and continues to advocate for visibility of Myanmar’s suppressed voices through creative expression.
Charlie Scrimgeour is an award-winning documentary director and cinematographer based in London. After studying Geography and Politics, Charlie went on to complete an MFA in Creative Documentary at UCL. After graduating Charlie worked for BAFTA-winning director Molly Dineen as an assistant producer. Charlie developed and pitched 'Please Enjoy Our Tragedies' to Al Jazeera Witness, which recently won an AIB Award and a Golden Nymph award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival.
Alex Bescoby is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and co-founder of Grammar Productions. Alex lived and worked in Myanmar for much of the 2010s after studying modern Burmese history at the University of Cambridge. His work on Myanmar includes We Were Kings, winner of the Wickers Award and later broadcast on Discovery; Myanmar: The Incredible Journey for Canal+; Who Stole Burma’s Royal Ruby? for the BBC; Forgotten Allies: the search for Burma’s lost heroes for PBS; and The Last Burma Star for Sky History. He is a mentor on the Akhat Alat programme.
Akhat Alat is a post-production support and mentoring programme focused on emerging filmmakers working in Myanmar. Operating in conditions shaped by civil war, censorship, and limited access to resources, the programme provides editorial guidance, post-production support, and international mentorship. The aim is simple but ambitious: to ensure that filmmakers working in Myanmar are not isolated, that their work reaches international standards, and that their stories are able to travel beyond borders.
Connections Through Culture is a British Council programme supporting international collaboration between artists and cultural practitioners. The programme focuses on building long-term relationships, exchanging skills, and supporting new work across borders. The 2025–26 strand supports collaborative projects between the UK and international partners, with a strong emphasis on equity, access, and cultural resilience. This event marks the UK public presentation of work developed through the Myanmar strand of the programme, Akhat Alat.
This event includes short documentary and fiction films that reference themes of political repression, conflict, displacement, and daily life under censorship in Myanmar. Some material may be distressing for viewers. Audience discretion is advised. The organisers have taken care to ensure the safety and wellbeing of participating filmmakers, particularly those based in or connected to Myanmar. Some contributors will join remotely. No identifying information will be shared beyond what has been agreed with participants, and discussions will be moderated to avoid placing anyone at risk.
