Life Garden orphanage, by Seng Mai

The 4th Yangon Photo Festival in Myanmar ended with a very emotional embrace between the patron of the event, Aung San Suu Kyi, and one of the laureates, 25 year-old Seng Mai. Like several other Myanmar photographers ‘ work, Seng Mai’s short photo-film brought tears to the eyes of many of the estimated 1500 people who crowded the French Institute’s gardens. With great sensitivity, she had drawn the attention of the public to the drama of her fellow Kachin people who suffer from the renewed fighting between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army.