Above and Below the Ground | Emily Hong | Myanmar, Thailand, U.S.A. 2023
Jingpo, Burmese with Engl. subtitles
The Chinese mega-dam project Myitsone is threatening indigenous communities in the highlands of Myanmar. In the first nationwide environmental movement, Kachin activists are fighting alongside punk rock pastors for ecological self-determination. We accompany Hkawni and her fellow campaigners in their political struggle to protect the N’mai and Mali rivers, which are sacred to them. Through protest, prayer and karaoke music videos, they come together to defend their homeland against the greed of multinational corporations.
“Above and Below the Ground” shows how the power of music and collaborative activism can contribute to civil disobedience against authoritarian power structures and addresses issues of political representation and intersectionality in environmental activism.
The screening will be followed by a talk with Emily Hong.
It takes place in cooperation with ethnocineca - International Documentary Film Festival Vienna 2024, May 16th to 22nd.
Cinemarkt is an event of Brunnenpassage in cooperation with Volxkino.