Thailand

A documentary recording the lives of Khon students in their last years of study. They spent six years under the rules of the military regime after the 2014 coup d’etat. The coup granted the regime power to change many things, especially education which became more focused on the monarchy and royal glorification instead of basic human values. While the world is becoming awakened to human rights, the military regime deems them against their own values. The shooting of the film began at the time of the king’s succession, shortly after which there was a great social awakening in Thailand. Meanwhile, the authorities used state violence and oppression in an effort to eliminate dissidents, even when they were just high school and university students.

Taiwan Premiere

Ever since fleeing Myanmar as a child, Mu, a young Kayan woman, lives confined as a refugee and tourist attraction in Thailand. Soon after she becomes a single teenage mother, the U.N. initiates a resettlement plan for the refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border which creates an opportunity for potentially tens of thousands of people to start new lives in the USA.

Determined to pursue freedom for herself and her baby, Mu ruptures ties with her traditional mother, her culture and tribe to fulfill the requirements of the rigorous vetting process. Once she finally arrives in America, her romanticized ideas are challenged by the reality that unfolds. As Mu fights to adapt, she begins to wonder where her world truly lies.

Sailing A Sinking Sea explores the culture of the Moken people of Myanmar and Thailand. The Moken are a nomadic seafaring community and one of the smallest ethnic groups in Asia. Spending eight months out of the year in thatch-roofed wooden boats, they are wholly reliant upon the sea, and their entire belief system revolves around water. Filmed on boats, underwater, and on 13 different islands, this film weaves a visual and aural tapestry of Moken mythologies and present-day practices.