Burma 2019, colorful flags float in the middle of a crowded park in Yangon. On the stage surrounded by spotlights, effeminate young Burmese perform a millimetre choreography of –Born this way- (Lady Gaga). Bystanders and sellers from the local market gather behind the gates of the park to catch sight of hundreds of young people rocking in rhythm under the impassive eyes of the police. 8 years after the opening of its borders and after more than half a century of dictatorship, Burma organizes its first Gay Pride in a country where public display of affection still prohibited. The Burmese LGBTQI community, until then reduced to silence and clandestinity, risks being exposed in Yangon for the first time.
This documentary is a project in development.
Context
Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by military dictatorships and its borders were completely closed. Since 2011, the country started to get liberated and now little by little opens up to the world. This causes the beginning of a new time for Burmese, that see a wind of change coming. The first public authorised Pride that took place in 2018 is the symbol of this evolution. However, homosexuality still is illegal in Burma. The article 377 of the penal code forbids homosexuality and sodomy. It can be punished by fines, but also by prisons sentences from 10 years to perpetuity although.
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they are not strictly implemented. LGBTQI+ are often targeted by the “shadow law” that enables policemen to detain anybody that they consider acting suspiciously after sunset. Transgender people suffer harassment from the police and their gender is not officially recognised. Burma does not allow homosexual marriages nor civil unions.
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In 2014, a homosexual couple caught the attention of media after having organised a wedding ceremony to celebrate their 10 years together. Conservatives then asked for anti-homosexual laws to be applied against the couple.
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While Burma is entering a new era after the end of the dictatorship, the LGBTQI+ community is trying to change the mentalities and to get accepted despite strong religious and traditional pressures. 2020 is a key year in Burma. It is the year of presidential elections. Aung San Suu Kyi is in serious danger of being re-elected, but it may be that these elections will bring about change, especially at the societal level. This year, ethnic minorities should be able to participate in elections and vote. This year the pride organized by And Proud and founded by Willem has two major themes: opening an emergency phone line for LGBTQI people in Burma and the campaign against the article 377.
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The emergency line is currently being tested by six volunteer counsellors and therapists working full-time at And Proud. This is the first time such a service has been opened. The six volunteers are overwhelmed with phone calls and Willem hopes that investors will allow this service to recruit more staff.
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The emergency line is currently being tested by six volunteer counsellors and therapists working full-time at And Proud. This is the first time such a service has been opened. The six volunteers are overwhelmed with phone calls and Willem hopes that investors will allow this service to recruit more staff.
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This year again, pride will take the form of a parade on the water, as public gatherings are still banned in Burma and punishable by imprisonment.
On the sidelines of the LGBTQI pride in Yangon, Willem and his team remind that many LGBTQI people in Burma are still held in silence and anonymity across the country and die because of the pressure and discriminations. Being LGBTQI in Burma is still a dangerous taboo.
This year And Proud is heading out to villages and countryside roads in partnership with local LGBTQI associations and is hosting screenings of drag queen films and shows in remote villages.
The opportunity to meet these gays, lesbians or trans ... who have never had the opportunity to come into contact with the community.
Director
Iris Lebrun
Iris Lebrun is a LGBTQI+ activist who wants to unveil the fight of this community around the world. In a country like Burma that had just opened is doors but is still facing domestic conflicts and extreme conservatism, the LGBTQI+ community struggles to get their voice heard and survive discrimination. It is their strength and courage that the director is portraying in this film.
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Iris Lebrun is a self-shooting director, with degrees in broadcast journalism and documentary production as well as extensive experience working in TV, in France and in the UK. She has collaborated with various channels and production companies in news and documentary production, hoping it will be a glimmer of hope for all the LGBTQI+ suffering around the world.
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She has already directed documentaries on the LGBTQI+ community around the world, in South Africa, in the UK and in France. Her documentary “Loïc, séropo indétectable” tells the story of Loïc, a young French homosexual living in London, who finds out he got HIV and has to learn how to live with it, and announce it. The documentary was broadcast on the French public broadcaster France 3. This time she shows a community fighting for its rights in a country that is still torn between modernity and traditions, a will to open up but a strong conservative culture.