Actors and directors standing on the street

If Chinese-speaking stars are bored by the Xinjiang cotton controversy, in Myanmar, many actors, entertainers, directors, etc. have taken to the streets because of their opposition to the coup that broke out since February. If I missed any Myanmar star, Or the description is wrong, welcome to add.

Actor Lu Min

A four-time Myanmar Film Academy Award-winning actor and director, he has acted in more than 1,000 films and served as Chairman of the Myanmar Film Academy from 2014 to 2017.

After the 2021 military coup, Lu Min, who was active in the non-cooperation movement, was wanted by the military government on charges of sedition, and was taken from his home in Yangon by police on February 21. His wife Khin Sabai Oo said: "The police forced the door and took him away without telling me where to take him. I couldn't stop them."

Filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi

Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was also arrested on February 21. He has liver cancer and has not been released. (I made a mistake before, he was not released)

This is not the first time Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi has been arrested. In August 2019, he was charged under Section 505 of the Criminal Code for his Facebook posts criticizing the Myanmar military, "Any material produced, published or distributed may cause public fear or Panic, may incite the masses to commit crimes against the country or public peace" and "insulting soldiers" under the Telecommunications Law, and was sentenced to one year in prison.

On February 21, 2020, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi was released. After his release, he said he wrote two screenplays while in prison and called for reform of Myanmar's criminal code. He founded and chairs the Human Rights Film Network, which assists Myanmar filmmakers to participate in international film festivals.

His short documentary "The Floating Tomatoes" is based on Inle Lake, a famous tourist attraction in Myanmar. Local farmers grow tomatoes on floating farmland built with scaffolding and soil on the lake. It also entered the lake.

Most farmers know that the water in Inle Lake is no longer suitable for drinking, but they are still exposed to chemicals such as pesticides with their bare hands, and various toxins accumulate in the residents' bodies and the ecological environment. The farmer's words shocked Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, "I don't know what is polluting the lake, but our lives and our families must depend on these tomatoes."

"The Floating Tomato" illustrates the vicious cycle of Inle Lake. Pesticides and fertilizers have caused the reduction of fish in the lake. Residents cannot make money from fishing, so they rely more on growing tomatoes, and at the same time use more pesticides and fertilizers.

Actor Paing Phyo Thu

Paing Phyo Thu, 30, and filmmaker husband Na Gyi, both wanted for their participation in the non-cooperation movement, are in hiding. Paing Phyo Thu graduated from Yangon Medical College and won the Best Actress Award at the Myanmar Film Academy Award. He is considered one of the successful actresses in Myanmar and the highest paid actress.

ActorPyay Ti Oo

Four-time Myanmar Best Actor Oscar winner Pyay Ti Oo is also wanted for his participation in the non-cooperative movement.

42-year-old Pyay Ti Oo, a child actress, nicknamed "Oo Ti" (ဦးတီ) and "Ti Ti" (တီတီ) by the Burmese, has participated in more than 100 films and numerous commercials. He established an education foundation to provide scholarships to medical school for outstanding and disadvantaged students of various religions and races. As a Buddhist, he also donated to aid refugees in Rakhine State.

Director Wyne

The 47-year-old director, Wyne, entered the film industry at a young age, playing supporting roles until he began directing films at the age of 30. Four-time Burmese Academy Award winners for his films, he is wanted by the junta for his participation in the non-cooperation movement.

Actor Paing Takhon

24-year-old actor Paing Takhon is a model and held a large fan meeting in Bangkok, Thailand in 2019. In 2017, he released his debut solo album "Chit Thu" (The Lover), and he donated the profits from the sales of the album to Ananda Metta Nursery Home.

Paing Takhon actively participated in the non-cooperation movement and was active on the streets.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy, he said,

 "When the country is in trouble, I will do my best in the current political situation."
"The reason for participating in the non-cooperative movement is not because I understand politics, but because as a citizen I have to do what I think is right."

Paing Takhon said, "You can't sit at home with anger because of the bad political environment." He believes that as a citizen, you must give your time and small fortune.

"It's the driving force," he said.

Actor Poe Mamhe Thar

Actress Poe Mamhe Thar, 23, active in the non-cooperation movement, told The Irrawaddy the story of an unfamiliar phone call.

One day, an unfamiliar number called her mobile phone, the other party's tone was polite and helpless, "I'm sorry, there is no internet where I live, and I don't know what's going on outside, so I called this number. ”

Poe Mamhe Thar asked the other party's location, "I'm in Danlao, where the hunt is very strong, but we don't know the status of other places." Danlao is a city in southern Myanmar that the security forces strongly suppressed.

For fear of being eavesdropped, Poe Mamhe Thar hung up the phone after answering the other's inquiry. She expressed concern that because of the disconnection and lack of information, protesters in many remote cities are worried that they will be left behind in the uncooperative movement.

Poe Mamhe Thar called on internet telcos to stand with the people.

Author's Note: Poe Mamhe Thar's official fan page was still available at the end of March and had hundreds of thousands of followers, but it disappeared from Facebook in early April.

Actor May Myat Noe

Actress May Myat Noe, a 22-year-old beauty pageant and modeler who is active in the non-cooperation movement, speaks fluent English in online communities about the state of the coup in Myanmar.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy, she said,

 "I will continue to speak to the international community about the current state of injustice in Myanmar until the dictator fails."
"The talk is not out of fear of injustice, but out of fear of the future and fear of not being able to defend the truth."

Photos from Actors and Directors' Facebook Accounts and Fans