ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Script Development Fund
2024 Script Development Fund
LIST Making a Sea
| Category | AFA / BAFA Project |
|---|---|
| Project | Making a Sea |
| Director | Lin Htet AUNG |
| Country | Myanmar / Thailand |
| Director's Profile | Lin Htet Aung is a self-taught filmmaker and time-based media artist, born in 1998, and based in Myanmar. In his earlier days, he wrote and published underground avant-garde poetry books, and began making short films in 2017. His short films have been selected at several international film festivals, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, Hamburg International Short Film Festival, and Ruang Rantau Exhibition (United States). He won the Silver Screen Award for Best Director Southeast Asian Short Film at Singapore International Film Festival 2020; the Silver Screen Award for Best Screenplay Southeast Asian Short Film at Singapore International Film Festival 2023; the Principi Award at Lago Film Fest 2023; and the Jury Prize at Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2023. He is a directing fellow of the Chanel X Busan International Film Festival Asian Film Academy 2023. He was also a Prince Claus Fund Seed Awardee 2023, and a participant at Locarno Filmmakers Academy 2024. |
- Synopsis
-
Maung Maung, the mayor of a small town in the arid central region of Myanmar, receives a phone call from the governor, and is assigned the task of creating an artificial sea in his town, fulfilling a long-held dream, both for himself and the townspeople. That same night, a burglary occurs at a local house. The three thieves caught include the homeowner’s nephew, and deeming it a family matter, Maung Maung releases them. However, two days later, the homeowner is found dead in front of the market, and the three thieves have vanished.
A few days later, three engineers are sent to begin the inland sea project, and Mayor Maung Maung and the townspeople are shocked to see that they exactly resemble the three murder suspects on the loose.
As they work together, over the next ten days, to create the sea, Maung Maung is consumed with guilt and feelings of responsibility. He grapples with these emotions while navigating a series of mysterious events, involving murder, family dynamics, and his own past. These events force him to confront his childhood anxieties about his identity, in the hometown where he has lived his entire life, and which he now tries to lead.
- Director’s Note / Intention
- Making a Sea is a project inspired by my forgotten hometown in the arid, central region of Myanmar. Lacking iconic landmarks or attractions, it is close to the ancient city of Beikthano, which attracts researchers to the heritage site, while my nearby town remains neglected and dying. Growing up there, I wanted to make a film about us, a community bound by hope. I imagined this hope as a sea, a symbol of our ultimate aspirations. In a town where few have ever seen a beach, the sea represents an ultimate, perfect hope; a dream of escape from our harsh reality. This hope transcends our daily struggles, symbolizing what we believe we deserve for our sacrifices. Additionally, the film explores the tyrant’s nature of demolishing and rebuilding, to erase painful memories with continuously new realities. I aim to depict the contemporary life and mindset of Burmese people, who endure political chaos, through a rational, metaphoric lens, akin to Yves Klein′s monochrome paintings.