'Burma VJ’ nominated for 2010 Oscar

'Burma VJ’, a courageous documentary film on the professional hazards courted by Burmese video journalists, during the junta’s brutal crackdown on the 2007 September uprising in Burma, has been nominated for the 2010 Oscars,documentary directed by Anders Østergaard and produced by Lise Lense-Mølle, chronicles the work of Burmese video journalists during the September 2007, demonstrations spearheaded by Buddhist monks in Burma.

The nominations announced on Tuesday listed the film in the ‘Best Documentary Feature Category’.Armed with small handycams the Burma VJs stopped at nothing for their reportage on the streets of Rangoon and smuggled out their video footage from the country. It was broadcast back into Burma via satellite and was offered as free usage to the international media.

For the first time, the Burma VJ collages individual images with infinite care and at once tells a much larger story.

The film offers a unique insight into high-risk journalism and dissidence in the military-ruled country, while at the same time providing a thorough documentation of the historical and dramatic events of September 2007, when the Buddhist monks started marching in protest against the regime following an unprecedented hike in fuel prices, which led to spiraling prices of essential commodities.

Burma VJ, has won several International Awards including ‘Amsterdam, IDFA 2008, Holland’, ‘Sundance Film Festival 2009 (USA)’, ‘Berlinale 2009: (GERMANY)’, ‘Bodil (Danish Golden Globe) 2009: (DENMARK)’, and the ‘Boulder International Film Festival 2009 (USA)’.