Myanmar’s film industry was once the most prolific in the region, creating cinema classics from the sizzling epic romance “Mya Ga Naing/ The Emerald Jungle” (watch a clip and learn about preservation efforts here), to the adaptation of future prime minister U Nu’s  anti-communist “Ludu Aung Than/ The People Win Through”. Filmmakers shot up to 80 films a year during the post independence heyday, yet still could not keep up with the demand from abundant movie theatres.    

But the socialist era under Ne Win dimmed the lights on the country’s movie business. Cinemas were nationalised and film reels — rationed by the government — became so scarce that there were not enough shows being made to keep theatres in business.

The 1988 mass protests and subsequent crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression dealt another huge blow to the once-vibrant industry. With cinemas closed, many production houses started to make videos. And so a new low-budget, mass market era of film making was born.

As part of an exhibition on the Kyauktada area of Yangon with Pansodan Scene Gallery, The Kite Tales spoke to Pyu, of Aung Pyae Sone Film and Video Production and Khin Lay Theint, of Mahar Tun Film and Video Production. Their offices are on 35th street, a narrow road festooned with billboards for everything from romances to grisly horror films, that is the epicentre of Yangon’s video and film production industry.