Abstract:

After the success of the pioneering Art of Documentary Filmmaking workshop held in Yangon, Myanmar in 2005, Angl-Burmese filmmaker and four experienced documentary editors from Europe and Australia returned in 2006 to mount The Art of Documentary Editing. Some of the young Burmese men and women on this residential course had previous experience in editing, but several had never touched an edit suite in their lives. For one month, course participants and tutors worked side by wide to shape eight short documentaries from material filmed by the participants prior to the workshop--often under difficult circumstances. Learning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their rushes, participants battled to create storylines and find the right rhythm for their films. Nerve-wracking screenings of works-in-progress before the whole group provided crucial feedback and helped these budding filmmakers to think about the form and content of all the films. This DVD features all eight films produced during the workshop, and a short film about the workshop itself, including comments from participants and tutors. Not only do these works reflect an intriguing range of subjects and approaches--from observational to experimental--they also reveal their creators' gradual appreciation of the subtleties of the documentary genre, as well as their growing confidence as filmmakers.