“The Beer Girl in Yangon”, interview with the director Sein Lyan Tun

December 21, 2023

Sein Lyan Tun, director ,"The Beer Girl in Yangon" The tale of the director's young life through the one of his sister.

"The Beer Girl in Yangon", interview with the director Sein Lyan Tun Angelo Acerbi

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“The Beer Girl In Yangon” is the first feature film by the Myanmar director Sein Lyan Tun, in Torino as part of the TFL Feature Lab, after being part of Open Doors 2021 in Locarno and Cannes L’atelier Cinéfondation 2022.

The need to tell

“The Beer Girl in Yangon” is a deeply personal story. Sein Lyan Tun felt the need to tell his story and the one of his sister and family, and film was the easiest way for him to express himself. “Tell about what y0u know best” they say, and he took the advice .

Plot

When her father is arrested for political activism, Lily (17) has to work in the beer station serving beer to customers. She immediately gets involved romantically with a karaoke singer named Moon. Lily has an acute endometriosis (painful menstruation) where she suffers but at the same time transporting her into another universe that gives her strength and voice that she never has in real life. In this other universe, she always encounters a mysterious older man that raises her curiosity until this man appears in real life at the beer station as her customer. She starts to build a platonic relationship with him that causes a complication with her relationship with Moon. With the constant pressure falling into prostitution, Lily has to find a way out or to escape the grim faith in front of her by trying to keep her dreams alive to become a singer.

Written by: Angelo Acerbi

Guest

Sein Lyan Tun