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A Thousand Fires
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A Thousand Fires
IDFA 2021

A Thousand Fires

Saeed Taji Farouky
France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Palestine
2021
90 min
International Premiere
Festival history

Using their bare hands, married couple Htwe Tin and Thein Shwe draw oil from a pit they drilled themselves on the land next to their house. There are lots of these “artisanal” oilfields dotted around Myanmar, where people have swapped crop cultivation for selling the oil they pump from the ground by hand.

There are moments when filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky allows himself a morsel of visual poetry, with almost impressionistic close-ups of the shimmering patterns in the syrupy brown oil, and a sound design that echoes the rumbling depths of the earth. More often, however, this is a stark and honest portrait of two people who want the best for their children. They are making their own way in life; son Zin Ko Aung dreams of a career as a professional football player.

The film offers a glimpse into an unusual way of life that combines grueling work and afternoon naps with visits to a fortune teller who predicts the couple’s future—mysticism is never far away in Myanmar, even in this oil-soaked setting.

Credits
Director
Sound Design
    James Bulley,
    Maxence Ciekawy
    James Bulley,
    Maxence Ciekawy
Music
    Fatima Dunn
    Fatima Dunn
Involved TV Channel
    RTS - Radio Television Suisse,
    Al Jazeera Documentary Channel,
    KRO-NCRV
    RTS - Radio Television Suisse,
    Al Jazeera Documentary Channel,
    KRO-NCRV
Screening copy
    Point du Jour - Les films du Balibari
    Point du Jour - Les films du Balibari
World Sales
    Square Eyes
    Square Eyes
Distribution for the Netherlands
    Windmill Film
    Windmill Film

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