Burma VJ Screened At Downing Street
19 June 2009
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On the eve of the 64th Birthday of Burma’s detained pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, No.10 Downing Street held a private screening of the forthcoming cinema release Burma VJ. It will be the first time that a film screening has taken place at No.10 Downing Street.
Burma VJ will be released by The Co-operative and UK film distributor Dogwoof on Tuesday 14th July at a nationwide Saffron Premiere event.
Sarah Brown hosted the event last evening in order to raise awareness for the growing global campaign - 64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi - created by Burma Campaign UK and supported by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which aims to put pressure on Burma’s Military regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi before the elections next year.
The 64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi campaign was set up to draw attention to the events taking place in Burma and encourages people to give messages of support for Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of her 64th Birthday.
A number of world leaders and high profile names from the world of entertainment have given their support to the campaign including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Yoko Ono, Kevin Spacey and David Beckham, alongside campaigners across the region and in the UK, led by Burma Campaign UK, Crisis Action, TUC, Amnesty International and Avaaz to name a few.
Burma VJ exposes the atrocities and injustices that have been taking place under the Military regime. It is highly relevant in the current circumstances surrounding the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and the ongoing repression of the people of Burma by the regime.
The director of Burma VJ, Anders Østergaard was present at No.10 Downing Street and participated in a discussion lead by Ivan Lewis, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
The film the undercover network of VJs record the appalling treatment of the Burmese citizens and monks which caused a global uproar after their peaceful protests resulted in violent opposition by their government. The VJs risk torture, imprisonment and even death in their quest to report what is going on in their closed country.
Representatives from The Co-operative and Dogwoof were also in attendance at the screening of Burma VJ, which is the first release in a unique two-way partnership deal which marks the beginning of a long-term initiative to bring socially conscious films to the silver screen.
Paul Monaghan, Head of Social Goals and Sustainability, explains The Co-operative’s motivation for supporting this film: "People put their lives on the line to get this footage out of Burma in the hope that the world would take notice. News stories come and go, but the oppression in Burma is as bad as anywhere on the planet, and we mustn’t turn a blind eye.
"The Co-operative is in its tenth year of campaigning on Burma. In line with the call from democratically-elected representatives of the Burmese people, The Co-operative does not trade with Burma, The Co-operative Travel has de-listed the country as a tourist destination, and The Co-operative Bank will not finance any organisation with a significant commercial presence in Burma.
Dogwoof’s CEO Andy Whittaker comments "We believe that film is a great medium for encouraging change and tonight’s screening of the film is a great opportunity. As well as reaching important decision makers, we hope it raises awareness across the UK.
"This is a must-see movie in highlighting the change in the way issues are reported around the world, especially with events in Iran now as well as Burma."
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