Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing started working as a freelance filmmaker from Myanmar in 2006. She was the director, producer, editor and sound recordist. Her short “Burmese Butterfly” played festivals in over 20 countries, and “Period@Period” won the Best Short Award at the Wathan Film Festival. “Midwives” is her feature documentary debut.
“Midwives” is screening at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which is running online from January 20-30. More information can be found on the fest’s website.
W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.
SH: Two midwives from different religions, one Buddhist and one Muslim work together in a makeshift clinic in western Myanmar providing medical services to the Rohingya in Rakhine State. We witness their hopes and struggles over five years in an environment of violence and chaos that is ever-increasing.
W&H: What drew you to this story?
SH: I was born in Rakhine State in the western part Myanmar. As a child, I thought it was possible for Muslims and Buddhists to live peacefully together.
In 2012, I was a young adult living in Yangon and working as a filmmaker when the news about the Rohingya conflict broke. I refused to believe the hate speech I was hearing at the time was real, so I returned to my hometown to learn more about myself, my people and where all the anger and hatred was coming. Two extraordinary women met me on that trip, a Buddhist midwife, and her young Muslim apprentice.
I made “Midwives” in order to represent myself and my country’s story – a story that I really want to tell using the film language.
W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?
SH: The most important kind of relationship is the one with your spouse. I want people remember to be kind to one another and to look out. The film is also a reminder that women have a lot of layers — they are multi-talented and outspoken, and they have humor. My film is about courage, community, and hope. There are strong and brave women in war zones who want to improve their day-today lives.
This film will also serve as a platform for Rohingya, and other minorities, as they attempt to integrate in larger society, so that they are not further marginalized or isolated in the world. My original idea was to amplify women’s voices from the conflict region of western Myanmar.
Another message and layer was added: that the people of Myanmar should be heard against inhumane attacks on their rights and injustices, and that they must hold the military accountable in order to restore democracy in Myanmar. The violence of the military council has left Rohingya and many other people in Myanmar in dire need of emergency aid.
W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?
SH: While filming, my cameraman and I didn’t feel safe the whole time. We would be arrested if we were caught with all our data and gear. It was a difficult task. We had to travel to Nyo Nyo and Hla’s village from Mrauk U everyday, the larger town where we were staying.
There are heavy fighting between the Rakhine Army (Malaysian Military) and the Rakhine Army (Malaysian Army) along the route. We traveled the road between these two camps. Most people didn’t use that road at that time. We could have easily been hit by a mortar shell or bomb. Our back and body didn’t feel safe when we used the road to travel for the filming.
Also when we filmed with a drone, we didn’t bring the drone with us. The drone would be sent to us with the bus one day before we began shooting with it. The drone would be returned to us the next morning.
These were just a few of the safety precautions we had to take. Everyday on the way to Nyo Nyo and Hla’s village, we had to pass a military checkpoint and inform them of the name of the village we were traveling to, and the reason we were going there.
We were fortunate to have a Toke Toke driver who was extremely helpful and would store our equipment in his vehicle. The driver would have to stop in front of the military gate and only the driver would be allowed to walk to the military gate to inform them which village we’re going to for what reason. The police station was informed by him that we were visiting different villages. The Toke Toke driver didn’t mention that we went to the same village everyday.
We couldn’t only focus on the story and we were working with fear in the location.
W&H: How did you get your film funded? Let us know how you got the film produced.
SH: As a filmmaker from Myanmar, we don’t have any funding support in my country. At first, I used my personal funds.
Docs By The Sea, the only international forum that is focused on creating a supportive environment for Southeast Asian documentary films, is the best option for a Southeast Asian filmmaker. Docs By The Sea was my first pitch. It was the first time I presented “Midwives” to commissioning editors, festival programs, and professional filmmakers from around the world. The story was so complex and due to the fact that it was my first time making a feature length doc, I initially didn’t receive any funding support.
Ulla Lehmann, a German producer was introduced to the project. We began applying for international funding, such as IDFA. The first two years we didn’t receive any funding. When Mila Aung-Thwin came to teach at Yangon Film School for a semester, he was interested in becoming a producer with EyeSteelFilm’s support. He also agreed that he would co-edit the movie with me.
Tribeca Film Institute was the source of our first funding. I then pitched the project to Docs Port Incheon in Korea with Bob Moore of EyeSteelFilm. We won the Best Asian Pitch Prize. We pitched again at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum and won the first-look Pitch Prize.
“Midwives” also received support from Chicken & Egg, Sundance Film Institute, the German MFG fund, some wonderful executive production partners, and others.
W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
SH: I’m from a country that only has careers like teacher, engineer, doctor, or office staff for government work. My mom asked me when I was a little what I wanted to do as a teenager. My mom was a teacher, and I didn’t want to tell her the truth that I didn’t want to be a teacher like her. I didn’t want to do any of the boring jobs. I didn’t want to be an engineer, being a doctor seemed too abstract since I didn’t like school. I felt stuck and didn’t know how to answer. Many of my classmates had dreams careers. I’m the one who didn’t.
There was a huge window in my classroom. Blue sky and birds would fill the large tree branch right next to the window. I loved to gaze at this view – perhaps a bit too much. My mother was informed by my class teacher that I was not interested learning lessons and schooling. She was right!
The only thing that made me happy was when the television was on. Back in ’90s Myanmar, TV was only on from 4 pm until 10 pm. One day I saw on TV a show with people working at a TV station — shots of big cameras, sound rooms, studio lights, and an editing room. That moment, I called my mom and said, “I want to work like those people!” My mom said, “People who work on TV are from families who work in TV. We are not an artistic household. You can’t work there!” But I stubbornly thought, why can’t I?
That dream stayed with me. When I was 18, I started my first job as an editor at a television station. I realized that I was capable of making things happen. I can make my own story.
When I was 21 years of age, I began studying documentary filmmaking at Yangon Film School. This opened my eyes! I enjoyed watching documentaries and listening as inspiring filmmakers came to my country to share their knowledge. Cinema was a draw for me, because it is so engaging.
Iranian filmmakers Hana and Samira Makhimalbaf were also influential in my life. Hana made “Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame” and Samira made “Blackboards.”
“We are what we think. Cinema can change thoughts,” Samira said. They use a filmmaking technique that falls somewhere between poetry or politics. Their films are pointedly real-world political, exposing issues of poverty, exploitation, and abuse – and supporting the struggle for female empowerment.
Since 2006, when the country was still in military control, I have been involved in many documentaries as a director and producer, editor, sound recordist, and sound recordist. These films focused on a number of politically and socially sensitive topics, which include acute poverty, human trafficking, monastic education, HIV/AIDS treatment and care, LGBT rights, and the empowerment of women. These films and documentaries were instrumental in bringing about change in Myanmar. This country is at the crossroads a remarkable democratic transformation.
W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?
SH: Best advice: “You have to follow your own instincts when you are choosing characters or a subject. You should never miss an opportunity to make a great film. As a filmmaker, a good film will make your life easier. Very long!”
I never got bad advice! I am so thankful to have had many great mentors in film throughout my life.
W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?
SH: Be true and authentic to your story, and your story will be true. Sometimes it can be lonely to make documentary films. You must believe in what you do. We will all succeed if we believe in our stories and know what we want. It takes a lot work. Trusting the process of creation is an important part in our film journey. Every woman’s story you make and every success you have is a footprint for other women to follow in.
W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.
SH: Tuula Mehtonenprajnadipa, my editing film mentor, traveled from Finland to Myanmar to teach film editing and film analysis classes at Yangon Film school. In 2007, she showed us the film “Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame” by Iranian woman director Hana Makhmalbaf.
Filmmaking can be described as a mix of documentary and narrative fiction, truth and opinion, poetry and politics. The film is a result of urgent dispatches from a region still not well understood in Asia and the West. Her powerful film resonated with my country and me.
W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you creative? If so, how?
SH: I was able to see all my footage during the COVID-19 pandemic and began editing the film. It was a great experience to edit. I was able to continue working on the creative process and attending online sessions as part of the Chicken & (Egg)celerator Lab and Sheffield Film Festival.
W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What are your suggestions for making it more inclusive?
SH: We need to make more films that focus on people of color. Before we make a film, it is important to think about creating creative space for dialogue within and between groups. Also, we must be mindful of representation, the role of identity and belonging, and to be mindful about representation. The film industry should support people of color to tell their own stories, not just as part of a white team. If we resist negative stereotypes, we can achieve a more inclusive world.
Source: Women And Hollywood