Biography

Born in 1971 in Myanmar, The Maw Naing is a multifaceted talent as a poet, artist, and filmmaker. His education in filmmaking includes studies at the Yangon Film School in 2005 and FAMU Film School in Prague in 2008. Notably, he was the first Myanmar filmmaker to present a feature at an international festival in nearly half a century. His short film ‘Again and Again’ (2005, Myanmar), based on one of his poems, won the Special Mention Prize at the Zebra Poetry IFF in Berlin. Another short, ‘Between the Pages’ (2010, Myanmar), is part of the permanent collection at the Fukuoka Museum in Japan. His co-directed documentary ‘Nargis: When Time Stopped Breathing’ (2011, Myanmar and Germany) was screened at CPH: DOX and IDFA festivals, winning four prizes. His debut feature film, ‘The Monk’ (2014, Myanmar and Czech Republic), premiered at Karlovy Vary, winning three prizes. The Maw Naing is currently preparing for the premiere of his second feature film ‘Ma’ in 2024 and working on his third narrative feature, ‘The Guy Who Wanted to be a Nun’.