Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Myanmar’s junta is clamping down on the country’s filmmakers.
Military rulers have amended the Motion Picture Law, tripling the maximum jail time for anyone who exports a film or screens it domestically without approval from censorship officials.
Violators of the 1996 Motion Picture Law previously faced up to one year in prison and a fine of 100,000 kyats (US$50). But the amended law, enacted on Friday, ups the maximum punishment to three years in prison and a fine of 2 million kyats (US$950).
Those who commit the same offense a second time face up to five years in prison and a fine of 3 million kyats (US$1,430), according to the amended law.
The previous version of the law laid out offenses that include screening films without a certificate of approval from film censors or a film industry license, and making films without a license.
The amended law adds clauses that criminalize “disrespectful remarks about the state,” “actions that harm the interests of the nation,” and “engaging in activities contrary to the law.”
Violators of the added clauses face warnings and may be suspended from filmmaking for one to three years, the new law says.
Anticipated impact
Film industry observers told RFA Burmese that the junta’s new law will make it more difficult to work and increase restrictions on the public’s right to information.
A domestic film director who, like others interviewed for this report, requested not to be named for security reasons, said he believes the new law is intended to crack down on the production of films in areas of the country that have come under the control of anti-junta forces since the military’s 2021 coup d’etat.
But he suggested it would have little effect.
“It’s impossible for the junta to restrict the production of films by unknown sources,” he said.
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Many other filmmakers who are opposed to junta rule have already fled the country, the director added, putting them beyond the reach of authorities.
But he said that the amendment will more broadly impact an industry already hobbled by a censorship board that has “little to no knowledge about film” and whose “abuse of power” has put Myanmar far behind the film production quality seen in other parts of the world.
He added that the country’s censorship system already involves “numerous complicated steps, but lacks a clear and organized structure,” creating confusion among artists about whether their films have been approved or not.
Another film director noted that it is uncommon for mainstream films from Myanmar to be screened abroad, as obtaining permission to do so is challenging.
“It is believed that the amended film law is likely aimed at restricting films produced in foreign countries, as well as domestically made films that are submitted to international competitions without undergoing censorship,” he said.
Restricting right to information
A lawyer, who also declined to be named due to fear of reprisal, told RFA that because film is a media platform that can influence the public, the amendment should be considered another restriction on the news media.
Media — whether in the form of news, films, videos, or traditional drama shows — “plays a crucial role in revealing current events,” the lawyer said, meaning the new law “further restricts the public’s right to information.”
A film actor who is based in a territory under the control of anti-junta forces told RFA that the law “creates an atmosphere of fear and oppression to the public,” but suggested that “art cannot be confined by law.”
When contacted by RFA for his reaction to criticism of the amendment, Win Kyaw Aung, the spokesperson for the junta’s Ministry of Information, said he could not comment because he was in the middle of the meeting.
Publisher’s license revoked
Meanwhile, a pro-junta news outlet reported on Tuesday that the military regime had revoked the business license of a publisher in the commercial capital Yangon for printing books that allegedly violated the country’s Printing and Publishing Law.
According to the report, Ministry of Information authorities banned the Maple Bookstore from operating on Dec. 19 because it had published two books — “Myitta Hnaung Thi Chit Kyoe Chi” by Mya Moh and ”Match Made in Clouds" by DIDI Zaw — that included “obscene texts.”
The ministry said it also intends to prosecute the books’ publishers and printers under the Printing and Publishing Law.
A publisher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that while “publishing obscene content is unacceptable,” the junta was wrong to revoke the publisher’s business license.
More generally, he said, “greater support is needed to publish literary and educational books” in Myanmar.
“Unfortunately, such books are often banned simply because they are deemed political,” the publisher said.
An official from the information ministry told RFA that the Maple Bookstore’s license was revoked “in accordance with regulations and laws.”
“We have issued regulations in the Printing and Publishing Law to prevent the publication of obscene pieces,” he said. “It was found that these publications were in violation of the prohibition, so we revoked their business license in accordance with the law.”
In November, the junta revoked the business licenses of the Golden Nation literature and poster distribution company, the Right Printing House, and the Destiny Book House, accusing them of violating the Printing and Publishing Law.
More than 30 publications and media outlets have been banned by the junta since the coup, according to publishers and distributors.
Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.