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Best actress Eaindra Kyaw Zin and best supporting
actress Soe Myat Nandar share a smile at the Academy Awards
ceremony last week. Pic – Lwin Maung Maung |
THE Myanmar Motion Picture Academy Awards Ceremony rarely passes
by without the occurrence of at least one significant event or
the setting of a new milestone that sets it apart from other years,
and the 52nd annual ceremony, held on December 30, was no exception.
The first event of note came when venerable actor U Nyunt Win
won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the movie
Mystery of Snow, bringing his career total to a record-breaking
seven awards since he won his first in 1968.
“My efforts have finally been crowned with the success
of earning a record number of awards, but I will keep trying to
achieve more awards in the coming years,” said U Nyunt Win,
who has been working as an actor in the movie industry for 43
years, during his acceptance speech at the ceremony at National
Indoor Stadium in Yangon’s Thuwanna township.
The second significant event was that the prominent scriptwriter,
U Nyein Min, became the first person to win an award three years
in a row when he took home the prize for Best Scriptwriter, also
for Mystery of Snow.
Which leads to Mystery of Snow itself – created by the
Sin Yaw Film Production Company – which became only the
third film in the history of the Academy Awards to win accolades
in seven areas. In addition to Best Supporting Actor and Best
Scriptwriter, the film also earned the prizes for Best Movie,
Best Director (Sin Yaw Maung Maung), Best Editing (Zaw Min), Best
Sound (Ko Aye Myint) and Best Cinematography (Ko Ko Htay).
They were the first awards ever earned by the production company
and by Ko Aye Myint, while SinYaw Maung Maung and Zaw Min were
second-time winners, U Nyein Min was a third-time winner, and
Ko Ko Htay a fourth-time winner.
In his acceptance speech, Sin Yaw Maung Maung paid tribute to
his fans.
“I feel very satisfied. The award makes me feel that putting
my concerted efforts into making a film with the aim of penetrating
the international market has been worthwhile,” he said.
Mystery of Snow was filmed on 11,500-foot-high Phon Kan (Ice
Mountain) in Kachin State with the aim of featuring the dramatic
scenery of the remote alpine region and showcasing its ethnic
people, to help attract more foreign visitors to Myanmar, he said.
“The movie has been screened at film festivals in China,
Africa, Malaysia and Singapore,” Sin Yaw Maung Maung said.
The other top award winners of the night included Lwin Moe,
who the award for Best Actor in Tit Khar Ga Ayeyarwaddy Nya Myar
(Nights on the Ayeyarwaddy River), his third in that category;
Eaindra Kyaw Zin for Best Actress in Myat Hna Mywar Te Moe Kaung
Kin (Sky in a Flux); Soe Myat Nandar for Best Supporting Actress
in Chit Chin Nge Pyaing (True Love), her second in that category;
and Sein Mutta for Best Music in Pan Dandaryi (Legendary Flowers).
The award winners were chosen from among the casts and crews
of the 27 movies that were released in Myanmar in 2004. Each winner
was presented with a golden statue and a K100,000 prize donated
by Super Coffee Mix.
The Myanmar Academy Awards were first held in 1952, when they
were presented for Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Movie. The
number of awards rose to 11 in 1994 and was further increased
to 14 in 2002.
The Academy Awards Ceremony was attended by the Minister of
Information, Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan, who said that the movie
industry needed to make the transition to using modern technology
to penetrate the international market.
The industry also needed to overcome weaknesses in many aspects
of movie production, including plots, presentation, acting standards,
costumes, cinematography, technology, screening and the services
provided by cinemas, he said.
The Brigadier-General also said that people working in the film
industry should cooperate in the building of studios and cinemas,
and in upgrading film equipment.
