Thabyay: Creative Resistance in Myanmar

The power of art in the face of Myanmar’s military junta.

The bloody civil war in Myanmar has been ongoing since the military coup in 2021, but violent conflicts have characterized the former British colony since 1948. The situation on the ground is seriously underreported. In this film, we get an inside perspective from a society where the civilian population stands up against an oppressive military junta.

After the coup in 2021, several people have taken up arms and joined various resistance forces, gaining more and more control in the country. This documentary follows four activists who use art in their resistance struggle. Through poetry, music and paintings, the activists express themselves; all with a dream of a peaceful Myanmar, where democracy, freedom and inclusion dominate.

After the screening on March 5, there will be a conversation between two generations of Burmese activists:

• Maung Maung Myint, Norway’s representative for Myanmar’s Democratic Unity Government (NUG).
• Tayza Naing, Norwegian-Burmese rap artist and democracy activist.

Maung Maung Myint came to Norway after the bloody suppression of the student uprising in 1988. Since then, he has helped establish the important news channel DVB, contributed to the solidarity movement for Myanmar and is today the Democratic Unity Government’s representative in Norway.
Tayza Naing is a Norwegian-Burmese rap artist who had his political awakening when his parents’ homeland in 2021 was again subject to dictatorship after several years of openness? How do these two activists see the possibilities for democracy and peace in Myanmar. How can art and activism contribute to the resistance struggle?

The conversation will be led by Marte Nilsen, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).

In the printed programme it’s announced that there will be a talk Saturday March 7 as well. This is incorrect. We apologise.