Burma VJ on DVD

Anders Østergaard's "Burma VJ" is the first Danish documentary since 1961 to reach the Oscar nominations. Overtaken in the final run by Louie Psihoyos' "The Cove" as best documentary feature, Østergaard's record of the monks' uprising in 2007 still shows an impressive track record of more than 40 honours and awards. Available on DVD at the DFI Film & Bookshop.

Anders Østergaard originally set out to make a small half-hour portrait of a young Burmese underground video reporter, but reality would have it differently.

"To begin with, I was mainly interested in my central character as a documentarian. He and his friends have to film with their cameras concealed in bags, which obviously is a major restriction on what they are able to document. Then came the rebellion," Østergaard comments in FILM#64.  

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In September 2007, the uprising of the Buddhist monks against Burma's military junta marked a dramatic turn of events. As the only filmmakers in the world, Østergaard and his team suddenly had an opportunity to tell the story of the rebelling monks first-hand.

"BURMA VJ Reporting from a Closed Country" is available at the DFI Film & Bookshop.