a film by holly fisher
NTSC
TRT 118 mins
DVD available for preview only
(c)2012 Otherwise Pictures llc
all rights reserved
synopsis
d e a f e n i n g s i l e n c e is a fusion of beauty and terror, observation and anger, roving visuals and intimate stories either funny, contemplative, or horrific – a subjective, layered depiction of Burma under brutal military dictatorship. My first trip was legal, shooting video as a fake tour guide doing research; the next was on foot, under-cover with ethnic Karen guerrillas, to film internal exiles surviving in a free-fire jungle war zone.
Colonial archival imagery and clips from You Tube are woven within this tapestry of fragments, often in ironic counterpoint, and always to pierce the chokehold of censorship. This is a living history of a country arrested in time, a hybrid documentary focusing on ethnic genocide, but with constant poetic resonance and a rich multiplicity of references to history and popular culture.
