Myanmar Film ‘RAY’ Draws Chiang Mai Crowd After New York Premiere

More than 250 people attended a screening of RAY in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on October 4, a day after the Myanmar film’s North American premiere in New York, according to Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). The audiences on both sides of the Pacific included members of Myanmar communities living abroad.

Directed by The Khit Nay and based on a book by Khat Zaw, the film dramatizes the experience of actress and former beauty-pageant contestant Htar Htet Htet after Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021. DVB reported that she left her entertainment career to join armed resistance forces. Actors Daung and Min Maw Kunn also appear in the film.

This film does not merely refer to Htar Htet Htet’s life alone. It represents the lives of all our revolutionary brothers and sisters who are going through this journey together, The Khit Nay, director, told the audience.

Daung attended the Chiang Mai screening in person, while The Khit Nay and Htar Htet Htet addressed the audience by video from Australia, where DVB said they live in exile. The director told the audience that the story was intended to represent others who had gone through similar experiences since the coup. Daung expressed hope that it would prompt viewers to reflect on the intervening years.

In New York, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, attended the October 3 screening and thanked members of the diaspora for their support of the anti-coup movement, DVB reported. The New York event also included an auction of film-related items and other goods to raise funds for displaced individuals. Reports indicate that proceeds from the screenings and auctions are intended for those displaced within Myanmar and for emergency relief, although DVB did not provide a total raised or an independently verified breakdown of distributions.

While Indonesian coverage of the film highlighted its role in raising awareness about the plight of Myanmar's displaced individuals and emphasized the cultural significance of diaspora events, Myanmar's outlets framed the screenings as a crucial platform for solidarity among those affected by the military coup.

I want it to take everyone back to their starting point in the revolution. It will be worth showing if it makes people reflect on where they started, what they have been through over these five years, Daung, actor, said.

After screenings in Australia and other Asian countries, the film’s October stops in New York and Chiang Mai placed its account of the conflict before audiences in two cities with significant Myanmar diaspora communities. Further screenings are scheduled, according to DVB. Its reports give differing dates for the film’s Sydney premiere, though both place it in June.

In the context of ongoing violence in Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State, recent reports from DVB indicate that airstrikes by the Myanmar military have intensified, resulting in civilian casualties and further displacement. On October 4, at least six civilians were reported killed in airstrikes on internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Ponnagyun Township, according to DVB, highlighting the dire humanitarian situation that the film indirectly addresses.