Documentary Open (clik here) tells the story of Ko Latt, a young Myanmar artist who won the chance to study abroad with a scholarship. While living in Zurich, Switzerland, he fell in love. Surprisingly – and for the first time – this was with another man. Open explores cultural differences between Myanmar and the West when it comes to love and sexuality, and it explores what it means for a Myanmar artist and performer to discover that he is gay and how that fits in with his Myanmar family and the social context in his country.
Since its premiere at the Yangon LGBT Film Festival, Open has created controversy about what is and what it is not possible to show on the public screen in Myanmar. It is a visually striking film debut for its director Khin Zarchi Latt, who had no filmmaking background before taking part in a workshop, the Rainbow Reels, as part of the preparations for Myanmar’s first LGBT &PROUD film festival in 2014.
Rainbow Reels Workshop is an initiative to foster a cohort of new young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film makers in Myanmar.
