Lord David Puttnam, producer of internationally acclaimed films such as ‘The Killing Fields’, concluded a two day visit as a UK Trade Envoy to Myanmar on October 10.
Now 73, the film-maker said while he would not be making a film about Myanmar, included in the Lord’s trip was a visit to Yangon Film School, where he shared his experience with the students learning the craft.
“My motto for the director is never give up,” said Lord Puttnam.
He told the students that in order to produce a good film, they should not worry about commercialism and money but to consider the audience.
“If you have a good idea, the people will wait in the rain for 30 minutes to watch your film,” said the producer of the Oscar-winning ‘Chariots of Fire’.
He encouraged young film-makers who might face troubles in screening their film in Myanmar to encourage and seek a reaction from audiences abroad by approaching international film festivals to screen it and developing their credibility.
On June 16, the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival held in Myanmar was forced to withdraw a film called ‘The Open Sky’ from the student film category of the festival. The decision to withdraw the film that the festival programme described as documenting a Muslim woman and her Buddhist friend’s view of the Meiktila crisis was taken after its directors had received threats via social media.
