Unless you have been living under a (virtual) rock you cannot help but be aware of the significance the colour green has had across the Twittersphere in recent times. For the Twit-literate among us, green ceased to mean crushing our cans or recycling old mags as profile pictures Hulked out in support of the people of Iran.
Everyone knows why Twitter went green, but what does orange mean to you?
Yesterday was Saffron Tuesday, a day that saw the launch of Anders Østergaard’s documentary feature Burma VJ. The film premiered at BAFTA and simultaneously screened across 40 cinemas nationwide. Supporters of the Burmese people and their struggle to find a voice were asked to wear orange ““ saffron ““ the colour of the robes of the Monks who stood up against an oppressive government and were beaten and abused for the act.
You may remember the images on the BBC news in 2007. What you may not know is that the act of filming, even voicing, anything remotely anti-establishment in Burma carries with it the most severe penalties. A group of video journalists called the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) risked their safety and their lives to bring us that footage and Burma VJ is their story.
Burma VJ is an exceptional and important piece of work.
The trailer is here and our review will follow shortly. Earlier this week HeyUGuys sat down with Anders and “˜Joshua’ a DVB member and the film’s narrator. Here is that interview:
Burma VJ Press Junket from HeyUGuys.co.uk on Vimeo.
