Shan folk singer Nan Mya Han was a star when she was young. Now that she is older, her metaphorical verses reflect the deep sense of loss felt by a people battered by Myanmar’s ruinous politics.
Interweaving her songs with compelling scenes of rituals around healing, death and birth, Song of Souls transcends the purely observational to become a multilayered exploration of impermanence that is both moving and mesmerising.
Sai Naw Kham made his first foray into directing in 2014 with The Crocodile Creek, a short film which merged myth and memory to explore present-day environmental issues in Myanmar’s Yangon River. His next film, 32 Souls, portrayed one woman’s memories in this war-torn part of Myanmar. Song of Souls is his first feature-length documentary.
Event/ This screening will be introduced by Lucia Udvardyova, WOMEX film programme curator, and will feature a recorded introduction from filmmaker Sai Naw Kham.
This work contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.