Sittwe is a 2017 internationally co-produced short documentary film about two teenagers, a Muslim Rohingya girl and a Buddhist boy, in Rakhine State, Myanmar who were separated by conflict in the state.[3] Directed by American filmmaker Jeanne Marie Hallacy,[4] it was banned by Myanmar government censors from holding its premiere at the 5th Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival (HRHDIFF) in Yangon.[5] Despite the ban, some short trailers of the film were screened in Myanmar. The directors of the film aimed to give a voice to the ordinary people involved in the Rakhine conflict and highlight the impact of a lack of education on racism and prejudiced attitudes.[6]
Its first screening was instead held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok on 5 July 2017.[2][5] To give ordinary Americans a better understanding of the human situation in northern Rakhine, the film was screened and promoted amongst American universities, congressional organisations.[6] The film was later screened at the Freedom Film Festival 2017 in Malaysia in early September, where it won the award for Best Southeast Asia Short Documentary.[7] In late 2017 the Myanmar-based Smile Education and Development Foundation sponsored a screening tour of the film in more than twelve major U.S. cities, including New York, Baltimore, Berkeley, and Los Angeles.[8] The tour featured director Hallacy and human rights activist and Smile Foundation founder Myo Win.[9]
^ abcd""Sittwe" Screening and Discussion". SEA Junction. Retrieved 26 February 2024. The Asian Premier is on 5 July at FCCT and the screening at SEA Junction is the day after.
^"Gallery Exhibit Offers Images Geared to Healing Division". Northern Valley Suburbanite. October 4, 2018.
