Irrawaddy Mon Amour, a documentary about a forbidden gay marriage in Myanmar, will have its world premiere at IDFA this month. The directors are now running a Irrawaddy Mon Amour has been selected for the mid-length competition of IDFA, the most important documentary festival in Europe. The festival has just announced its program and the film will have its world premiere on November 21st. Made by three Italian directors, Nicola Grignani, Valeria Testagrossa and Andrea Zambelli, the film follows the story of a young homosexual couple in Myanmar that – helped by LGBT activists, Buddhist monks and village housewives – tries to celebrate love, against the fear of military repression.
Myanmar has been in the spotlight in the past days for the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi at the first free elections since 1990. Before this important moment, a military junta held the country for almost 50 years, repressing democracy and civil rights. Myanmar has a law that prohibits homosexual acts, section 377 of the criminal code. After the end of British rule in the 1960s, the law has been kept in existence and enforced by the military authority. Punishment includes incarceration for a minimum of 10 years.
The directors have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo that aims to collect 10.000€, essential to cover the post-production costs and bring the film to IDFA and the other film festivals on the agenda, including Torino Film Festival.
The directors – who already worked together on the short documentary Striplife (2013) taking place in the Gaza Strip, CPH:DOX nominee and Torino Film Festival winner – went to Kyauk Myaung, a little village on the Irrawaddy river, in the heart of Myanmar, where they were stunned to find a strong LGBT presence in such a small community.
“The supportive and open-minded atmosphere of the people of the village allowed a lot of young people to come out. We thought it was important to make a film about choice: the choice of not giving up fundamental human and civil rights, such as freely celebrating one’s love.”
The crowdfunding campaign offers the possibility for organizations and cinemas to pre-buy the film screening, with the participation of the three directors. You can find all the crowdfunding infos on Indiegogo: http://igg.me/at/irrawaddymonamour