Juries for Aung San Suu Kyi Award (International)

Audun Aagre

(born 1973) is Director of Norwegian Burma Committee (NBC) working on Myanmar issues for 25 years. He has worked as journalist, photographer and documentary film maker, directing documentaries and short films about music, culture and politics for Norwegian and Swedish television. Audun has a background as a musician and co-produced Myanmar singer Mun Awng’s international album Path to Freedom in 1998, where he took part as a composer and guitar player. He has published three books on Norwegian gastronomy. He visited Myanmar first time in 1994, and worked closely with the Burmese student movement as a student at the University of Oslo, and co-established Burma Support Group together with other Norwegian students.

David Scott Mathieson

is an independent analyst based in Yangon working on a range of issues related to human rights, peace and conflict. From 2006 to 2016 he was the Senior Researcher on Myanmar for Human Rights Watch. He has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, The Irrawaddy, Asia Times, Bangkok Post and other publications.

Dr Jane M Ferguson

is Lecturer in Anthropology and Southeast Asian History at Australian National University, and is the Editor of the Journal of Burma Studies. She has research and work experience in Burmese, Thai and Shan, and has published on a range of subjects including ethnic conflict and histories, popular culture, cinema, and aviation.

Juries for Aung San Suu Kyi Award (National)

Pe Maung Same

Pe Maung Same is an independent documentary filmmaker who developed his passion for documentary filmmaking while he was working as an editor of newsreel and historical films for AV Media back in 1996. He have also produce his own VCD magazine, ‘Disc Diary’ in 2014. His works looks into the serious issues and events of Myanmar through the lives of ordinary people in observational style with his rhythmic camera works. He has also been training young emerging filmmakers of Myanmar, in collaboration with different INGOs and local NGOs. He now mentors film students from diverse communities and give consultations to the news agency for their programs while he is working on his own films as well.

Wunna Kyaw

Wunna Kyaw is CEO & Founder of Miracle Post Creative Media Production House. TVC, Corporate, Animation director. Brand Ambassador of Sony Alpha 4K Cameras

We Ra

We Ra is one of the leading independent filmmakers in Myanmar. His film experience extends from underground initiatives and screenings in Yangon at the time of military rule to film workshops abroad. He is an alumnus Asian Film Academy of Busan International Film Festival, R.O. Korea 2013 and Berlinale’s Talents Tokyo 2014,Japan. He has also participated in Asian Filmmaker’s Lab Fantastic Film School of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival 2015, R.O.Korea, as well as, the first Film Leaders Incubator: FLY program in the Philippines where he was awarded “Creativity and Artistic Talent Award”. In addition to this, he has also attended ASEAN-Sapporo, Re:J Filmmaking School in Japan which lead his team to the “Best Creativity Team Award”. Also he is an alumnus of Open Doors Lab of Locarno International Film Festival ,Switzerland 2016 . He has also participated in La Fabrique des cinémas du monde of Festival De Cannes, France 2017 and Open Doors Hub of Locarno International Film Festival ,Switzerland 2017 to develop his first feature film “ One Summer Day”.  

His short film " The Robe" is the very first Myanmar competition film for the Wide Angle Best Short film award in Busan International Film Festival, 2016, R.O. Korea and Selected in Court Métrage Short Film Conner Film Festival De Cannes 2017. Also" The Robe" selected from Oscar qualified level Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific International Film Festival, USA as a competition film.

We Ra has established his production company, Green Age Film Production which has been engaging in various local and international projects. In the name of Green Age Films, he has directed and produced documentaries and narrative shorts that have traveled to different international film festivals including Busan, Rotterdam, Locarno and won many awards. We Ra is also the founder of Myanmar New Wave Cinema Group, and together with Green Age Films, it’s supporting and providing minimal funding and other resources for young filmmakers in Myanmar with the aim to move forward the new wave of independent Burmese cinema.

Juries for Min Ko Naing Award

Myo Min Khin

Born in Yaeoo in Sagaing Division in 1976, Myo Min Khin dropped music studies at the University of Culture to join the Forever Group as a systems engineer in 1998. He set up his own animation company Anonymous Motion Art in 2002. A member of YFS since its inception in 2005, Myo Min Khin has since worked on a number of YFS productions as either sound recordist and/or editor. One of Myanmar’s premier workflow specialists for digital editing systems, Myo Min Khin has also taught at YFS workshops. A Talents alumni of Berlinale Talents Campus from 59 Berlinale Filmfest at 2009. One of the organizer at Wathann Filmfest since 2011. Beyond the Light was his directorial debut.

Thaiddhi

Born in 1983, in Yangon. Since 2005 I have been attending several filmmaking workshop in Yangon, aside of my studies on recently establishing film studies of University of Arts and Culture in Yangon. Step by step I started to work as an independent documentary filmmaker.

Then I passed entering exams and received scholarship to attend Czech National Film Academy - FAMU - for 3 year master degree program in English Cinema and Digital Media, strong in practical filmmaking, except of academic focus. My first short film AWAKE won Best Short Film at FAMU Fest 2009.

As an output of wider collaborative work I co-founded the first burmese film festival - the Wathann Film Festival in Yangon, in 2011. Even though I focus mainly on creative side of cinema, we successfully put lot of effort to gather and inspire whole network of young people or filmmakers invested in independent filmmaking with topical and artistic ambitions.In 2013, I co-founded the Third Floor Production base in Yangon.

Kaung Sint

Kaung Sint is an Independent filmmaker from Myanmar. He was born in 1994 and learnt 3D animation since 8 th Grade from his brother who is an Art Director at that time. In 2010 just after he finished his matriculation exam, he worked as an Assistant Video Editor in a Media company. After that he studied 3D animation abroad in Malaysia for a year then came back and studied Media and Art and Design and completed Higher National Diploma in 2013. In 2014, He participated a documentary course organized by Human Dignity Film Institute and his short film ‘Enter’ won the best film in Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival. In 2015, he got in Film Leader Incubator Program (FLY) which selected 2 people from all the ASEAN countries plus Korea and Kaung Sint won Creative Talented Award. In 2016, Kang Sint joined with other two filmmakers and made a feature lengtrh documentary film which won ‘Vaclav Harvel Library’ Award in HRHDIFF again. Now, he organized 13 filmmakers and made the first Omnibus Film in Myanmar named “Psycho Zero” which is made under psychological theme with Zero Production Budget for all 14 films.

Juries for Gender Equality Award

Aung Myo Min

The executive director of Equality Myanmar, formerly known as HREIB (Myanmar). In 2000, he founded HREIB (Myanmar) in Thailand, engaging in human rights campaign and writing numerous books about human rights issues. He returned to Myanmar in 2013 and has been actively engaged in human rights educations and campaigns. To this day, he has received seven human rights awards.

Nilar Tun

National Gender Advisor, CARE International in Myanmar Co- Chair, Gender Equality Network As national gender Advisor in CARE International in Myanmar, she is working for gender equality, women empowerment, fight for Gender Based Violence. She believes that engaging men to end Gender Based Violence is very important so she is advocating to men to engage to end violence against women in Myanmar.

She is Co-Chair of Gender Equality Network and she is making guidance on activity of the GEN to implement strategically. She is actively participated in working group, as a chair person of Engaging Men Working group and at the special event. She makes representation to GEN about advocacy of gender equality, ending violence against women etc

Thida Thin Myat Thu

DVB Founder / DVB Management / DVB Entertainment Dept. Head/ Executive Producer / Presenter Studied Marine Science at Moulmein University, Peace Journalism at Stockholm University, Sweden 1992 – One of the founder of Democratic Voice of Burma (at that time it is a short wave radio but now multi media) Participated in many Burma’s documentary films as an journalist as well as activist Interned at United Nation Human Rights Monitoring Service in Switzerland Written many articles about women and human rights Attended many international women conference including 4th UN conference on Women, Begjin, China in 1996 Worked as General Secretary at IAWRT (International Association of Women in Radio and Television – Norway Branch) Now working as DVB Management/ Entertainment Dept. Head/ Executive Producer / Presenter

Juries for VOA Award

Kyaw Kyaw Thein (International Broadcaster)

Kyaw Kyaw Thein is an experienced broadcast journalist with more than 11 years of experience in the field. He joined VOA (Burmese Service) in 2016 and since then he has been working in various capacity as a broadcast journalist. He has extensive experience on reporting all issues relating with Myanmar (Burma), be it political, social, economical, cultural, or any other issue. He also has wide range of knowledge and technology know-how in digital media and he is the leading person of VOA (Burmese Service)’s digital media efforts.

As a Rangoon (Yangon) University student in 1988, he took part in nationwide anti-dictatorship movement as a student activist. He was arrested by military intelligence in Aug. 1990 and subsequently imprisoned by a special military court in Oct. that year for four years prison term. He served his prison terms in notorious Insein Prison and Thayet Prison and released in Dec. 1993. He left for Thai-Burma border at the end of 2001 to join exile movement and eventually seek resettlement in United States after three and half years in the border. He holds a B. Sc. in Mathematics.

Sithu Naing (Video Journalist)

Sithu Naing is an experienced Video Journalist with almost 7 years of experience in this field. He joined VOA (Burmese Service) in 2012 during by-election campaign held in May that year and since then he has been with the Service working as VJ, Reporter, and Office In-charge of the Service’s Yangon Bureau. He also trains and guides new VJ members of the Service. He holds a B. Sc. in Physics.

Than Lwin Htun (Chief, VOA Burmese Service)

Than Lwin Htun has been Chief of VOA Myanmar (Burmese) Service since 2005. He joined VOA in 2004 to lead the efforts to transform the Burmese Service to become a full-fledged multimedia news broadcaster. VOA Burmese now has 2.5 hours of daily Radio programs and 30 minutes daily TV programs broadcast live from Washington D.C. It also maintains a popular Facebook page with more than 9.2 million fans.

Lwin left Burma in late 1988 in the wake of the military crackdown on pro-democracy protests. He was part of the nationwide movement as a prominent student leader while studying at Rangoon Medical College. His journalism career started at BBC Burmese Service in London in 1991. During a two-year sabbatical from BBC between 2002 and 2004, Lwin worked with the international NGO Internews in Thailand to establish the first Burmese journalism school and trained more than 200 Burmese and ethnic journalists. Lwin holds a B.Sc in Microbiology from University of North London and a Master's (M.Sc) in Social Policy planing and Economics from London School of Economics (LSE).

Juries for Hantharwady U Win Tin Award

Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi

Founder of Human Dignity Film Institute, Festival director of Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival, Poet, Screenwriter, and filmmaker.