Burma VJ

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (Danish: Burma VJ - reporter i et lukket land; Burmese: ဘားမား ဗီဂျေ, romanized: bharrmarr begyaay) is a 2008 Danish documentary film directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution against the military regime in Burma.^[2] The "VJ" in the title stands for "video journalists."^[3] Some of it was filmed on hand-held cameras. The footage was smuggled out of the country,^[4] physically or over the Internet. Other parts of it were reconstructed, which caused controversy.^[5]

Burma VJ
Directed by	Anders Østergaard
Written by	Anders Østergaard, Jan Krogsgaard
Produced by	Lise Lense-Møller Com: Magic Hour Films Line: Cecilia Valsted Ass.: Lars Frederiksen
Starring	The Burma VJs
Narrated by	"Joshua"
Cinematography	Simon Plum
Edited by	Janus Billeskov & Thomas Papapetros
Music by	Conny C-A Malmqvist
Distributed by	Dogwoof Pictures (UK), Oscilloscope Laboratories (US)
Release date	12 November 2008 (2008-11-12) (COPDOX)
Running time	84 mins
Country	Denmark
Languages	Burmese English
Box office	$123,477[1]

Reception

Critical response

Burma VJ has an approval rating of 97% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 62 reviews, and an average rating of 7.69/10. The website's critical consensus states, "A powerfully visceral docu-drama highlighting the evils of censorship and the essential need for freedom of speech".^[6] It also has a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[7]

Awards and nominations

Lise Lense-Moller holding award for Burma VJ at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards

The film won awards, especially at European film festivals, e.g. it won the Golden Apricot at the 2009 Yerevan International Film Festival, Armenia, for Best Documentary Film.^[8][9] It won the World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.^[10] Burma VJ was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.^[11]

Box office

The film was released to one theater on 20 May 2009 and grossed $5,554 in the opening weekend. Its widest release was in three theaters. As of 1 May 2010, the total gross stands at $123,477.^[12]

DVD features

The DVD includes a message from Buddhist actor Richard Gere comparing the situation in Burma to that in Tibet.^[13]

See also

• Myanmar portal

• 8888 Uprising
• Human rights in Burma
• Saffron Revolution
• The Lady

References

1. "Burma VJ (2009)". Box Office Mojo.
2. Thomas, Kevin (29 May 2009). "'Burma VJ' vividly details monk uprising". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
3. Tobias, Scott (14 July 2010). "Burma VJ: Reporting From A Closed Country". The A.V. Club.
4. Bass, Charlie (28 May 2009). "FILM REVIEW: Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country". The Indypendent. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
5. Marshall, Andrew (29 January 2009). "Burma VJ: Truth As Casualty". Time. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
6. "Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes.
7. "Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land". Metacritic.
8. San Francisco Film Society, "Golden Gate Award 2009 Winners". Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
9. Variety, Mundell, Ian (1 December 2008). "'Burma VJ' wins Amsterdam prize". Variety. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
10. 2009 Sundance Film Festival Archived 14 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine sundance.org
11. "'Burma VJ' nominated for "Best Documentary" Oscar – CNN Travel". cnngo.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
12. "Box Office Mojo". Retrieved 3 July 2009.
13. DVD Oscilloscope Pictures OSC-012, 2010.

External links

• Official website
• Burma VJ in the Danish Film Database
• Burma VJ at IMDb
• Burma VJ at Rotten Tomatoes
• Sundance 2009 page