Burma VJ, which focuses on the 2007 protests by Buddhist monks against the Burmese authorities, is a documentary for the YouTube generation. The VJ in the title stands for "video journalists". The advancement of cheap digital camera technology and the internet have changed the way these kinds of events are reported. Increasingly, documentary filmmakers are using amateur footage loaded on to the internet to overcome official bans on journalists and provide a record of events that governments do not want aired. This is the next level of cinema vérité (Hana Makhmabaf sources similar amateur footage in her film about the Iranian election, Green Days). The danger of this approach for audiences is that the often harrowing footage shot at the scene seems so urgent and authentic that it's easy to forget that a documentary film is still ultimately edited by a director. It can still be manipulated to tell a story that, although on the surface seems indisputable, can be skewed. It's worth bearing this in mind because, even when they try to be impartial, directors often have some sort of an agenda. The Danish director Anders Østergaard has expertly gathered this predominantly out-of-focus footage of the protests and paired it with narration by a pro-democracy activist known only as Joshua (his identity is hidden for his own protection). It's powerful stuff. The story of the uprising is well told and seems balanced. It's also an important film in terms of cinema as it illustrates a major shift in the way documentaries are made.
Burma VJ screens tonight at 10pm and Thursday at 4pm at Cinestar 3, Marina Mall.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Elvis
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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