Mila Aung-Thwin
Encyclopedia
Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian
documentary film
maker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice
.
He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts
, journalism
, and photography
. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cross
and co-founded with him EyeSteelFilm
specilaizing in making documentaries. He is the vice-president of the company.
on the stations CTV
, BBC
's Storyville and TV 2 (Denmark)
. as a co-director to Daniel Cross. Another co-direction with Cross was Too Colourful for the League
, Gemini-nominated TV documentary examining the struggle of blacks in ice hockey
from the 1930s to the present day telling the story of black players' courage and determination to play in a white-dominated sport.
To his credit as sole director are the documentary Bone
that follows Montreal's Snell Thouin Project with the extraordinary talents of Willy Tsao's Beijing Modern Dance Company, Music for a Blue Train, a documentary about the beauty and hardship of playing music for commuter traffic focussing on Montreal's subway system, The Métro
, that has 59 designated spots for musicians to perform for the public and finally Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive
co-directed with fellow EyeSteelFilm directors Daniel Cross, Brett Gaylor
and the students of Inukjuak - Innalik School
.
He served as cinematographer / producer on S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic, a theatrically released film about a squeegee punk named Roach. He also produced RoachTrip
as a follow-up to S.P.I.T.. As director, he won the Golden Sheaf Award at the Yorkton Film Festival in 2006 and as producer, he won a Genie Award
for Up the Yangtze
in 2009. In 2008 he was executive producer for Antoine
. In 2009 he produced RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
(producer) and Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cross
Daniel Cross (filmmaker)
Daniel Cross a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice.He is co-founder of EyeSteelFilm with fellow director/producer Mila Aung-Thwin. He is the president of the company...
and co-founded with him EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm
EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company founded and co-owned by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression...
specilaizing in making documentaries. He is the vice-president of the company.
Career
Aung-Thwin, an award-winning director made the films Chairman GeorgeChairman George
Chairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
on the stations CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Storyville and TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 (Denmark)
TV 2 is a publicly owned television station in Denmark based in Odense. The station began broadcasting on 1 October 1988, thereby ending the television monopoly previously exercised by the Danmarks Radio ....
. as a co-director to Daniel Cross. Another co-direction with Cross was Too Colourful for the League
Too Colourful for the League
Too Colourful for the League is a 52-minutes 2001 Canadian documentary film made for TV, directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by Diversus Productions and Daniel Cross....
, Gemini-nominated TV documentary examining the struggle of blacks in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
from the 1930s to the present day telling the story of black players' courage and determination to play in a white-dominated sport.
To his credit as sole director are the documentary Bone
Bone (documentary)
Bone is a 48-minute 2005 documentary about the first modern dance co-production between Canada and China, directed and choreographed by Nadine Thouin in collaboration with the Beijing Modern Dance Company. The film was directed by Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm production company and produced by...
that follows Montreal's Snell Thouin Project with the extraordinary talents of Willy Tsao's Beijing Modern Dance Company, Music for a Blue Train, a documentary about the beauty and hardship of playing music for commuter traffic focussing on Montreal's subway system, The Métro
Montreal Metro
The Montreal Metro is a rubber-tired metro system, and the main form of public transportation underground in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
, that has 59 designated spots for musicians to perform for the public and finally Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive
Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive
Inuuvunga: I Am Inuk, I Am Alive is a joint 58-minute 2004 documentary about Inuit high school students in Inukjuak, Quebec, Nunavik , documenting their final year in the high school....
co-directed with fellow EyeSteelFilm directors Daniel Cross, Brett Gaylor
Brett Gaylor
Brett Gaylor is a Canadian documentary filmmaker living in Montreal, Quebec. Born in 1977, he grew up on Galiano Island, British Columbia. He is a member director of EyeSteelFilm documentary production company and its Head of New Media....
and the students of Inukjuak - Innalik School
Inukjuak - Innalik School
Inukjuak – Innalik School, part of the Kativik School Board, is a primary and secondary School in Inukjuak, Quebec, Nunavik with more than 400 students...
.
He served as cinematographer / producer on S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic, a theatrically released film about a squeegee punk named Roach. He also produced RoachTrip
RoachTrip
RoachTrip is a 46-minute 2003 Canadian documentary about two punks, Roach and his friend Smash down the invisible punk highway across Canada...
as a follow-up to S.P.I.T.. As director, he won the Golden Sheaf Award at the Yorkton Film Festival in 2006 and as producer, he won a Genie Award
Genie Award
Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for Up the Yangtze
Up the Yangtze
Up the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
in 2009. In 2008 he was executive producer for Antoine
Antoine (film)
Antoine is an 82-minutes 2008 Canadian documentary film directed by Laura Bari. The film features a young 5-year old blind kid named Antoine Houang....
. In 2009 he produced RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright"directed by Brett Gaylor.Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema...
(producer) and Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
Taqwacore (film)
The documentary Taqwacore is one of two films based on on Michael Muhammad Knight's book The Taqwacores. In 2008, the book had been made into a feature film by director Eyad Zahra starring actress Noureen DeWulf as Rabeya, actress Rasika Mathur as Fatima, and actor Bobby Naderi as Yusef.The film...
.
Director
- 2001: Too Colourful for the LeagueToo Colourful for the LeagueToo Colourful for the League is a 52-minutes 2001 Canadian documentary film made for TV, directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by Diversus Productions and Daniel Cross....
- 2005: Chairman GeorgeChairman GeorgeChairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
- 2005: BoneBone (documentary)Bone is a 48-minute 2005 documentary about the first modern dance co-production between Canada and China, directed and choreographed by Nadine Thouin in collaboration with the Beijing Modern Dance Company. The film was directed by Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm production company and produced by...
Producer
- 2001: S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic (producer)
- 2005: Chairman George (co-producer)
- 2005: Bone (producer)
- 2007: The Colony (executive producer)
- 2007: Up the YangtzeUp the YangtzeUp the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
(producer) - 2008: AntoineAntoine (film)Antoine is an 82-minutes 2008 Canadian documentary film directed by Laura Bari. The film features a young 5-year old blind kid named Antoine Houang....
(executive producer) - 2009: RiP!: A Remix ManifestoRiP!: A Remix ManifestoRiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright"directed by Brett Gaylor.Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema...
(producer) - 2009: Ali Shan (executive producer)
- 2009: Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk IslamTaqwacore (film)The documentary Taqwacore is one of two films based on on Michael Muhammad Knight's book The Taqwacores. In 2008, the book had been made into a feature film by director Eyad Zahra starring actress Noureen DeWulf as Rabeya, actress Rasika Mathur as Fatima, and actor Bobby Naderi as Yusef.The film...
(producer) - 2009: Last Train Home (producer)
Awards
- In 2006, he won the Golden Sheaf Award at Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival for Chairman GeorgeChairman GeorgeChairman George is a 73-minute 2005 Canadian documentary film about the Greek Canadian musician / troubadour and statistician George Sapounidis. The documentary is directed by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin and produced by EyeSteelFilm in association with CTV, BBC's "Storyville" series and TV2...
alongside Daniel Cross - In 2009, he won Genie AwardGenie AwardGenie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...
for "Best Documentary" for Up the YangtzeUp the YangtzeUp the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
jointly with Yung ChangYung Chang-Biography:Yung Chang is the director of Up the Yangtze. He is a Canadian filmmaker currently based in Montreal, where he earned a degree in film production in 1999 from Concordia University...
, John Christou and Germaine Wong