Sai Naw Kham made his first foray into directing in 2014 whilst a beginner student at Yangon Film School with The Crocodile Creek, a short film that merged myth and memory to explore present-day environmental issues in Myanmar’s Yangon River. For his next film, 32 Souls (YFS, 2015), he travelled to his native Shan to portray one woman’s memories in this war-torn part of Myanmar. Following its international premiere at DOK Leipzig in 2016, this film went on to screen to acclaim at festivals including Busan and at Kathmandu’s Film South Asia Festival in Nepal. In 2020, he directed a short film, The Forgotten Voices of the Mekong, which was screened at numerous festivals as part of an anthology film entitled Mekong 2030. Song of Souls is his first feature-length documentary.
Song of Souls
Song of Souls
Song of Souls
In Shan State, Myanmar, ancient culture clashes with six decades of civil war. Once a renowned folk singer, Nan Mya Han now channels loss through metaphorical verses. A documentary intertwines her songs with scenes of rituals, delving into decay and impermanence amid political turmoil. It's a poignant, mesmerising exploration of a people's resilience amidst upheaval.
'In our country, people believe that if someone had experienced scary and frightening events, the guardian souls from the body would run away and that person would never have a dream anymore. In order to become cured of that, the soul has to be summoned back.
'Song of Souls is not only the voice of a mother who is moaning and bewailing for her vanishing children but also the sound of calling my own souls as a filmmaker.' - Sai Naw Kham
