A film by Tiane Doan na Champassak and Jean Dubrel
(France / 16mm and super 8 / 31 min / black and white / stereo)
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“Natpwe. The Feast of the Spirits” is an immersive black-and-white documentary about an annual Burmese trance ritual, with echoes of Jean Rouch and David Lynch. The film was shot in 16mm and S8 in Taungbyon, a small village in central Myanmar, that hosts an annual pilgrimage for tens of thousands of believers. During five days, they celebrate the millenary cult of the Nats, the spirits of the Burmese pantheon. Five days of offerings, ceremonies and trance rituals. Five days for the liberation of the bodies and the minds. Listed by film critic Nicole Brenez as one of her filmic discoveries of the year 2012, “Natpwe. The Feast of the Spirits” was selected, among others, for TIFF 2013, NYFF 2013, Festcurtas Belo Horizonte 2013, DOCLISBOA 2013 and IDFA 2013. It was awarded the Scribe Prize for Cinema and Best Short Documentary CIDFF 2013.