The theme how a local encounter changed my perspective on
the world could not have been more fitting to my recent experiences in Myanmar,
a country that spends much time in the international doghouse – and is rarely
portrayed positively in international press.
As I came to understand why I knew so little about this
amazing country, I realised the actions and treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi,
Myanmar’s most recognisable pro-democracy icon, overshadows international media
coverage of the country – leaving me, and I suspect many others, in the dark
about everyday life in the nation.
I wanted to show my local encounter had given me a positive
slant on a country so negatively portrayed in the world media. Therefore, I wrote
the script first and then pieced together my travel footage showing there is
more to Myanmar than Suu Kyi, politics and human rights abuse.
My main challenge was to produce such a video using images
shot as travel footage. But as my ambition is to explore the world making
documentaries on social and environmental issues, much like what Expedition
Blue Planet is currently working on, I was excited by this challenge.
