Please join us for a special screening of the recently restored Burmese film General Cartoon (Tha Du, 1963) followed by Q&A with Director of Save Myanmar Film, Okkar Maung (on Zoom). This event will be held at the Film Studies Boardroom at 99 North St, St Andrews, from 3pm to 5pm on Wednesday 30 October.
General Cartoon has been recently restored and digitised by the Thai Film Archive. The project is funded by a British Council Myanmar Connections Through Culture Grant awarded to Okkar Maung (Save Myanmar Film) and Philippa Lovatt (University of St Andrews) for the project ‘Safeguarding and Protecting Audiovisual Heritage in a time of Environmental Crisis.’
General Cartoon is a satirical black-and-white short film that intertwines dark comedy with poignant social commentary. The story follows General Cartoon, a fierce bandit plagued by malaria, who ruthlessly robs and murders to survive. His chaotic life takes an unexpected turn when Nyunt Maung, a treasure seeker who bears an uncanny resemblance to the notorious robber, stumbles into the forest.
Mistaken for General Cartoon, Nyunt Maung is showered with fear-fueled payoffs from fellow bandits, unaware of the peril he’s in. Meanwhile, Daphne, a determined woman seeking vengeance for her brother’s murder at the hands of robbers, becomes entangled in Nyunt Maung’s ruse. Despite the chaos, she finds herself drawn to Nyunt Maung.
As the plot unfolds, hilarious misunderstandings and witty dialogue bring light to the dark realities of life in the jungle, reflecting the struggles of the poor and the corruption of the military regime. In a twist of fate, audiences ponder the thin line between hero and villain, humour and tragedy.
Tha Du (1918-1991), an author and film director, used to be a lieutenant, marching at 1300 Yaynanmyay Revolution. Later in the 1940s, he did not involve himself in the political scene and began writing novels and articles. He is the author of about twenty famous novels and an autobiography called Thar Du Lu Par Wa Te and many more short stories. Among his novels, Tet Hte` Ka Myat Ko Ko won the Literacy Award in 1954 and was chosen to be used as a textbook for Matriculation Examination. In 1959, he established a film production company and started filming. In that year, he won Best Burmese Director Academy Award with his first feature film named Ka Gyi Yay Ka. In 1960, he won his second academy award with Ah Ngo Lwal Thee. He has made prominent Burmese films throughout his career.
Tickets for the screening can be booked here. All welcome! Please note, the screening space is on the 1st floor of the building and there is no wheelchair access. Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to watch the film at another time/venue.