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Burma VJ (2009) Certificate 12

Burma VJ
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Rated 3.5 stars
Average rating
(73%)
 
Director: Anders Ostergaard
Studio: DOGWOOF PICTURES
Run time: 84 mins
Genres: Documentary
Released: February 01, 2010

Armed with pocket-sized video cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country. In 2007, after decades of self-imposed silence, Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years. Foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down, and Burma was closed to the outside world. So how did we witness these events? Enter the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), aka the Burma VJs. Compiled from the shaky handheld footage of the DVB, acclaimed filmmaker Anders Ostergaard's Burma VJ pulls us into the heat of the moment as the VJs themselves become the target of the Burmese government. Their tactical leader, code-named Joshua, oversees operations from a safe hiding place in Thailand. Via clandestine phone calls, Joshua dispenses his posse of video warriors, who covertly film the abuses in their country, then smuggle their footage across the border into Thailand. Joshua ships the footage to Norway, where it is broadcast back to Burma and the world via satellite. Burma VJ plays like a thriller, all the more scary because it is true.

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Rating of 5 stars out of 5
Time Out

Click here to read our interview with 'Burma VJ' directorRecent events on the streets of Tehran have demonstrated just...

Highest rated reviews

4 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 4 stars
Stunning documentary

YeovilEd from , 17th February, 2010

This excellent film by Danish director Anders Ostergaard really should be seen. Democracy may sometimes be far from perfect but this documentary is a shocking reminder of the lengths some in power will go to to stay there, despite the overriding will of the people. Shot at great personal risk to the Burmese contributors, it's a credit to their determination - they have succeeded in capturing incredible footage of the protests of 2007, the protesting monks and the junta's reaction to unprecedented public dissent. Dialogue in English and Burmese (all subtitled). Recommended.

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