In Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s Dox:Award Competition documentary, against the backdrop of a country torn apart by terrible religious and political conflict, two women do their best to help as midwives in one of the remoter regions of Myanmar.
The women live and work in a bustling but dusty village in the disputed province of Rakhine in western Myanmar, controversially offering their midwifery skills to Buddhists and Muslims alike, therefore treading a fine line in terms of how they are viewed by both locals and the authorities.
Hla is a Buddhist and the owner of a makeshift medical clinic in the province where the Rohingya Muslim minority are persecuted and denied basic rights. Nyo Nyo is a Muslim and an apprentice midwife who acts as an assistant and translator at the clinic. Her family has lived in the area for generations, yet they are still considered intruders.
Encouraged and challenged by Hla, who risks her own safety daily by helping Muslim patients, young and determined Nyo Nyo is determined to become a steady health care provider for her community. Nyo Nyo may well be referred to constantly as a ‘kalar’, or ‘darkie’ by old-fashioned Hla, but at heart (and hers is a genial if somewhat blunt one) Hla wants Nyo Nyo to take her time and learn the trade of midwifery properly and not just focus on material goods.
The opening shots of Snow Hnin Ei Hliang’s debut feature may well offer up beautiful aerial shots of Myanmar and its temples in the early-morning mist, but soon the story is largely set within the clinic (and home) to which women travel for hours from around the region for care and attention.
Betel-chewing Hla runs her clinic with a sharp tongue (one of the first things she has to say at a difficult birth is: ‘I told you bitches to shut up!”). But she is victimised and threatened by Buddhists because she treats Muslims, who equally don’t appreciate her treating them as they don’t speak the same language. When the army closes the clinic down for a while they are quick to adapt – Hla sets up a fish shop at the back of the building and Nyo Nyo heads out in the streets to sell flavoured ice to eager youngsters.
There is little sense of the community and how people live their lives beyond occasional trips out, with the camera largely based in the clinic itself. Hla’s elderly mother lives upstairs and needs regular injections, while her loyal husband watches television (patriotic music videos and army news). The clinic is there as a safe space for women in need.
In truth, though, this is a film about two very different women joined in a common purpose. Yes Nyo Nyo may be younger and fond of her gold necklaces and pretty tops and Hla a little more cynical and pragmatic, but they are doing their best to help their fellow women despite deep religious divides and the machinations of the military.
Myanmar, 2021, 91mins
Dir: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Production: Snow Films, Ama Fillm, Eyesteel Films
International sales: Dogwoof
Producers: Bob Moore, Ulla Lehman, Mila Aung-Thwin, Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
Cinematography: Soe Kyaw Htin Tun
Editors: : Mila Aung-Thwin, Ryan Mullins, Snow Hnin Ei Hliang
Music: Olivier Alary, Johannes Malfatti
