Jeremy Colson

LOCARNO ~ The Burmese short film “Pyar Pyar Nyo Yaung Maing Ta-lei-lei”  (Cobalt Blue) gets its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival today.

Directed by Aung Phyoe, and with a running time of 27 minutes,  the film is entered in the Pardi di Domani (Leopards of Tomorrow) section, one of four sections at this year’s festival.

The Pardi di Domani competition screens shorts and medium-length films by worldwide independent filmmakers or film school students who have not yet tried their hand at feature films. It is the first time ever that a Myanmar movie is in official competition at the Locarno Film Festival. 

Set in Yangon in the year 1998, the film takes place over the period of one evening at a government housing apartment. A  boy and his mother await the father, a civil servant, before the family  leaves the capital to resettle in the north of the country. It dawns on the boy that there is an unusual bond between him, his mother and the  man-next-door.
 

The film will also be screened on Friday and Saturday, with subtitles in English and French.
 

Director Aung Phyoe is closely connected with Third Floor Production which was established in 2013 with the aim of developing the Independent film scene in Myanmar. Third Floor organized the Wathann Film Festival.