“Lady of No Fear” , The Danish-made film about Burmese political activist and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, was shown at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) on Tuesday, 6 September at a completely sold out screening where several members and guests had to sit on the floor.
Before the screening, Danish Ambassador Mikael Hemniti Winther introduced the director of the movie, Anne Gyrithe Bonne who pre-empted a frequent comment that some said it was more a film about the relationship between Aung San Suu Kyi and her late husband than about her. After the screening, FCCT Committee Member Jim Pollard moderated a question and answer session with Anne Gyrithe Bonne.
The film was produced based on interviews with people, who knows Aung San Suu Kyi or used to know her, but Anne Gyrithe Bonne herself has never met and interviewed her subject. She was not sure if she would actually ever get a chance to meet her, because Aung San Suu Kyi seems to have been not pleased with the version of the film, that she has seen, Anne Gyrithe Bonne said.
The film is a moving tribute to the producer’s deep fascination and respect for Aung San Suu Kyi and the immense personal sacrifices her struggle has cost herself and her late husband. It does, however, not tell a very complete picture of the political developments in Burma as well as the struggle of Aung San Suu Kyi herself.
Shown to an audience like the FCCT, it seemed not to be a problem that the film takes for granted quite an extensive knowledge about the character and the political developments in Burma since 1940 and especially since 1988.
The full house of guests applauded not only the film but also Anne Gyrithe Bonne personally for her very candid replies to how she had made the movie, admitting also how she had been on the verge of trashing several times over the more than three years of research and interviews and production.
It was the first time the extended version of the film was screened in front of an audience.
