HOUSE OF THE WEEK

Ready-for-rent villa in Mayangone township

MAKE no mistake – this is a big house. The compound is about 10,000 square feet and the two-storey house has about 5000 square feet as well. And it’s just as well that there’s so much space because it’s a long way from downtown, at Thanlawaddy Street, off Pyay Road, in Mayangone township. more

Yangon Weather Forecast, Burma

Film accolades rewarded with gold

As the curtain closed on the 54th annual Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards no one was surprised by the results. A Myar Hnit Ma Thet Sai Thaw Thu – He who is not concerned with others – swept the stage, February 6, receiving over half of the awards given on the night.

Academy Award Winners (Left to Right) : A Representative from Myat Chai Film (Best Film), Khant Si Thu (Best Actor), Moh Moh Myint Aung (Best Actress), Ye Aung (Best Supporting Actor), Nyi Nyi Tun Lwin (Best Director), Khin Moh Moh Aye (Best Supporting Actress), Than Nyunt–Pan Thar (Best Cinematography) Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

The film won a total of four awards including best film, best director, best actor –to the films star Khant Si Thu – and the award for best supporting actress going to Khin Moh Moh Aye.

Best actress went to Moh Moh Myint Aung for her role in Myint Mo Htet Ka Thara Phu – a flower which grows on the Mount Meru. Best supporting actor went to Ye Aung for his role in Academy Shot and Than Nyunt (Pan Tha) took home the award for best cinematography for Kyo Tan –tight rope.

Myanmar films’ leading director, Nyi Nyi Tun Lwin described his films success saying that: “the movie was a hit as it was a mix of both comedy and drama”.

 

“I wanted people to have fun watching my film but I also wanted to produce something with some substance,” he said.
“At first, because the film is essentially a comedy, I was unsure if the film would win any awards at all”.

One of the most coveted awards, best actress, was given to the well loved Moh Moh Myint Aung, for her stunning role playing two twin sisters in Myint Mo htet Ka Thara Phu –a flower which grows on Mount Meru.

 

“People may think that I would be calm after so many years, but the older I get the more exciting it becomes. I was actually really scared that I would miss out on the award,” she said.

Moh Moh Myint Aung is one of Myanmar’s most successful actresses. Though well into her fifties, she continues to marvel audiences with captivating performances. Moh Moh Myint Aung now has four awards to her name.

As everyone suspected the award for best actor went to Khant Si Thu for his part playing one of two brothers in A Myar Hnit Ma Thet Sai Thaw Thu. It was the actor’s first academy award.

 

Ye Aung won his second academy award, in 15-years, for his best supporting role in Academy Shot.

“Its been so long since my last award that I had almost forgotten what it feels like to win an award,” Ye Aund said adding that he did not come to the awards with any expectations.

“I was a little bit surprised to win anything this year especially because the film was a comedy,” he said.

The first announcement of the evening was awarded to Than Nyunt for his breathtaking cinematography in Kyo Tan. The film is about two rival fishermen feuding over separate claims to the river.

The film was set on the picturesque waters around Bagan. However according to Than Nyunt, making the film was “a very long and tedious affair”.

“We had so many difficulties making the film. We worked for ten hours a day under the hot sun,” Than Nyunt said. “It makes this award even more special, it means a lot,” he said.

Than Nyunt has made over 150 movies in 30–years and this is his sixth Academy Award.

Khin Moh Moh Aye won her first statuette for her supporting role as a greedy, money hungry widow in A Myar Hnit Ma Thet Sai Thaw Thu.

During her acceptance speech Khin Moh Moh Aye took the opportunity to thank both the director for giving her the opportunity to take part in the film as well as her “135 teachers who taught her how to act”.

Only seven out of the total 11 Academy Awards were given out on the night. The awards for best music, best sound, best editing and best screenplay were omitted form the evening’s program.

This year’s event marked the 54th Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards ceremony held since 1952.

Regular section