The Open Sky Shut Down by Hate

Poster for The Open Sky, a film that was withdrawn due to threats.

For all intents and purposes, a documentary film that depicts the friendship between two women -- a Muslim and a Buddhist -- seems a perfect fit for the Human Rights Human Dignity Film Festival, held in Rangoon last week (June 15-19). But the audience would never get to see it. The Open Sky, a 20-minute film by young Burmese film students, was withdrawn in the 11th hour due to threats of riots and violence, most of them anonymously delivered to the festival organizers via social media.

In the post-festival interview with The Irrawaddy, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, the festival's lead organizer, recalled, "They said on Facebook that I received funds from the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) to make this film ... Then I got a phone call: 'Is it true? Did you take money from the OIC to make this movie? Is it favorable to Islam?' The calls kept coming. When I got to the theater, the owner said, 'They're threatening to burn down the theater and to kill you.' The whole day calls kept coming in ..."

Mounting pressure and accusation proved too much for the filmmakers of The Open Sky. They disabled their Facebook pages and went quiet. But Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi remains vocal and defiant. "I'm not going to delete what's written on my Facebook page," he said. "I won't give them attention."

The film tackles what remains a shameful episode for Buddhist Burma -- an anti-Muslim riot in the town of Meikhtila. The cancellation of the film suggests the deep-seated sentiments that gave rise to the deadly communal conflicts still smolder today, stroked by the vitriol circulated on social media.

The anonymous, faceless threats targeting the filmmakers and festival organizers are just a symptom of something else that's brewing -- open hostility toward Muslim-owned businesses. Early this month, U Parmoukha, an abbot from Mergui, began urging his followers to boycott telecommunication service provider Ooredoo, a company with corporate roots in Kuweit and Qartar.

"I'll preach [people] not to take calls coming from Ooredoo numbers," he said, according to an article in the Burmese journal 7 Day Daily. "It's not an attack on the company's business and commerce. It's for our race, religion, and faith. If you patronize Ooredoo, they'll swallow up your race, religion, and faith."

At the same time, a bill that seeks to deter interfaith marriage -- specifically, between Buddhist and Muslim -- is making its way to the Parliament. The current Constitution, flawed as it is, does promise that the State "shall not discriminate any citizen of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, based on race, birth, religion ..." Yet, President Thein Sein seems quite willing to entertain a discriminatory bill proposed by a conservative Buddhist organization, headed by the controversial monk Wirathu and his cohorts.

The synopsis of The Open Sky listed in the festival's online catalog reads, "The film follows a woman who visits her Muslim aunt whose house gets burned down during Meikhtila’s ethno-religious conflicts. It documents the aunt’s view of the conflicts, the events that took place, and a Buddhist friend of the aunt who helped her in the conflict, and their views on the conflict and towards each other with love and peace."

Footage from The Open Sky is nowhere to be found -- not even a trailer or a sample clip. A few screenshots of the poster linger online. It features a quote that reads "We don't need anything else. Just pray for peace."

Clearly, the prayer hasn't been answered.

Update:
Q&A with  one of the filmmakers of The Open Sky, published by The Irrawaddy.