Yangon Calling
2012 45 minutes
YANGON CALLING - PUNK IN MYANMAR
Punk in Myanmar – that is a provocation itself. After all, here in the former military dictatorship the probably most rebellious of all subcultures faces one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes. For young Burmese, punk is a way to stand up against a hated government. In their songs, they criticize the appalling living conditions in Myanmar and call for freedom and human rights. In the 90's, sailors brought the first punk rock cassettes into the isolated country. Since then a scene with several hundred followers has emerged in Yangon.
The film "Yangon Calling" introduces the main protagonists of the punk rock scene and shows their life in Myanmars's underground. During six weeks, the filmmakers Alexander Dluzak and Carsten Piefke filmed secretly and without authorization in Yangon, using small cameras. They accompanied the punks to their homes and met their friends and families. They went along with them to work in the tailor shop and tattoo studio, to rehearsal rooms and secret illegal concerts. They spoke with punks who had sat in jail during the military dictatorship and saw them fight their frustration with heroin.
Yangon Calling is a film about life in an authoritarian state, about personal tragedy and the struggle for freedom in a country where punk is still true rebellion.Companies involved in this production
