Synopsis (Download RTF-File)
KALAMA SUTTA: Seeing is Believing is a 96 minute video documentary in which a trip to Burma is transformed into a meditation on human rights and media. Burma (renamed by the military junta in 1990 to „Union of Myanmar“) is ruled by a military dictatorship with one of the world‘s worst records on human rights. Hence, the restoration of democracy and peace as well as the protection of human rights are fundamental issues in this pristine country that had been isolated from outside influence for nearly four decades. Where hilltribes fetch water with hollow bamboo as the junta seeks business on the internet, Burma shows through startling contrasts how globalization impacts land and people. Our focus is on Burma. Yet, Burma also acts as a conduit to explore the impact of militarism, ethnic struggles, (neo-) colonialism, violence, and our common vulnerability in a globalized world.
As living history, KALAMA SUTTA explores the gap between the Burma recently opened for tourist consumption and the other, hidden Burma off-limits to the visitor. In a country whose citizens can get long prison terms for possessing a fax or a computer modem, the reality one perceives as a traveler must be a distorted one. Three weeks traveling inside Burma confirmed that the only access to what was really going on was through secondary sources like conversations with refugees and exiles in the West; the internet; and assorted media. Never has so much information been available, at a time when it is equally possible for a tourist to savor The Golden Land without ever knowing about the “trouble in paradise“. On that background this poetic documentary looks into human rights issues, yet, in the case of Burma, it necessarily becomes an investigation into the truth of appearances.
Under the guise of video-toting tour operators, Holly Fisher and Katherine Pieratos traveled to Burma soon after its government launched an ambitious tourist campaign. The stunning footage gathered on the trip is both backdrop and smokescreen for a film that probes appearances and investigates harsher, hidden realities.
Testimonies from Burmese exiles leading the struggle for democracy and indigenous rights and from others carry this living history of Burma forward. Woven throughout lyrical, often playful footage shot inside Burma; internet and undercover footage; colonial home movies; and archival material, compelling characters talk about the forced labor and torture, ethnic cleansing, land abuse and their struggle for survival concealed behind the veneer of the „Visit Myanmar“ campaign. Visual juxtapositions, elements of Burmese popculture and personal narratives invite the audience to discover the resilience, wit, and courage within the horrific Burma story.
The Kalama Sutta has been described as „the Buddha‘s Charter on Free Inquiry“. This discourse, evoked at the beginning of the film by Burma‘s Foreign Minister, is about encouraging one to doubt appearance, blind faith and entrenched tradition. The foreign minister uses the charter to underscore his invitation for tourism and foreign investment to the Burma he describes as serene. „Come and see for yourself“, he says. „Seeing is believing“. While the official may not be accurate about the reality in his country, he precisely catches the spirit of this work. His words „seeing is believing“ run as a critical leitmotiv throughout the film.
Credits
KALAMA SUTTA: Seeing is Believing??Director: Holly Fisher
Producers: Holly Fisher and Katherine Pieratos
Editor: Holly Fisher
Camera: Holly Fisher
Sound: Holly Fisher
Additional camera: Katherine Pieratos
Length: 100 min.
Color
Original Language: English; several Burmese languages
Subtitles: English
Characters: May Oo, Moe Thee Zun, Zarni, Min Zin, Ka Hsa Wa
Contact:
Holly Fisher
9 Murray Street, 10 NW
New York, NY 10007
tel/fax: 001-212-349.5445
zacho@mindspring.com
© 2001 by Holly Fisher
All Rights Reserved.
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