# MA - Cry of Silence

MA - Cry of Silence (Burmese: မ) is a 2024 Burmese film written by Young Jeong Oh and directed by The Maw Naing. It is produced by The Maw Naing and Young Jeong Oh under the production studios One Point Zero and Plus Point One. It is inspired by women's strikes that took place in 2012 in Myanmar.
MA - Cry of Silence was premiered at various film festivals, which include 29th Busan International Film Festival 2024, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2024, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2024 (Windows on Asia), World Film Festival of Bangkok 2024, Dharamshala International Film Festival 2024, 19th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024, Festival International du Film de Marrakech 2024, 2nd Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival 2025 and Göteborg Film Festival 2025.

## Plot

The film tells the story of an 18 year-old Mi-Thet who has left her family in the countryside for a job at a garment factory in Yangon. She faces an urgent strike organized by her colleagues. But soon, the strikers are attacked by the henchmen of the military regime, leaving Mi-Thet terrified by her past trauma. By learning about the recent history of her country, she decides to act.

## Cast

* Su Lay as Mi-Thet
* Kyawt Kay Khiang as Nyein-Nyein
* Nay Htoo Aung as Ko-Tun
* Nwe Nwe Soe as Ei-Lay
* Ko Nanda
* Thidar
* Htet Htet
* Khine Tha Zin Ko

## Production

The film is co-produced by Jeremy Chua (Potocol), Charlotte Guénin (Massala), Marie Fuglestein Lægreid, Ingrid Lill Høgtun, Linda Bolstad Strønen (DUO film) and Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maitre (Alpha Violet Production).

## Release

MA - Cry of Silence was screened on 4 October 2024 at the 29th Busan International Film Festival. The film was premiered at the Dharamshala International Film Festival on 9 November 2024. It had its European Premiere at the Göteborg Film Festival on 31 January, 1 & 2 February 2025.

## Reception

Allan Hunter of Screen Daily reviewed, "MA – Cry Of Silence depicts a life that barely feels worth living. Cinematographer Tin Win Naing paints Mi-Thet’s boarding house as gloomy and claustrophobic; a warren of misery with no privacy. The garment factory is all artificial light and rows of sewing machines. The shots of whirring fans and clock faces underscore the notion that these women are like creatures trapped on a running wheel." Clarence Tsui of The Film Verdict wrote, "Boasting stellar performances from its young cast, MA - Cry of Silence conveys its fiery spirit loudly and clearly."
Namrata Joshi of Cinema Express opined, "The entire film, like Mi-Thet, moves primarily between two key spaces—the factory and the dormitory. Both are equally grimy, bleak and joyless and lend an element of confinement to the visual design of the film. In turn, it reflects the limitations of the young lives—that of Mi-Thet as well as her co-workers and friends. The young women are like caged birds. The production, sound design, and cinematography go hand-in-hand in creating an enveloping sense of place, an architecture of claustrophobia. An overwhelming sense of suffocation pervades the film’s frames; it reaches out and can be felt by the audience as well." Panos Kotzathanasis of Asian Movie Pulse commented, "The concept of experimentation in movies recently has become quite formulaic, with most films of the category featuring a combination of vignettes and narration, usually unrelated to each other. Thankfully, The Maw Naing's experimentation in MA – Cry of Silence is of a completely different style and actually works quite well."

## Accolades

| Festival | Award | Result |
| 2nd Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival 2025 | Best Fiction: International Competition | Won |
| 29th Busan International Film Festival 2024 | Best Film | Won |
| 19th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024 | Geber Award | Won |
| 19th Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2024 | Golden Hanoman Award | Nominated |
| World Film Festival of Bangkok 2024 | Special Mention | Won |
| World Film Festival of Bangkok 2024 | Best Film: Lotus Award Competition | Nominated |
| Festival International du Film de Marrakech 2024 | Best Feature Film: Golden Star | Nominated |
| Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema 2025 | Best Feature Film: Golden Wheel | Nominated |
| Göteborg Film Festival 2025 | International Competition: Dragon Award | Nominated |
| Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2024 | New Talent Award | Nominated |