A THOUSAND FIRES

The couple Thein Shwe and Htwe Tin operate an illegal oilfield in the Magway region in Myanmar, one of the oldest oil industries in the world. They produce one barrel every few days through back-breaking manual labour. They want their son to have a better life, to be able to break free from this cycle of poverty. He, however, wants to leave school and become a professional football player. The Palestinian-British filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky creates an intimate, poetic family portrait. The strong and colourful images work like oiled clockwork.