Scene from Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country

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Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008)

Name: Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2008-11-12
Duration: 84 min
Rating: 7.3
Cast: George W. Bush, Ko Muang, Aung San Suu Kyi

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (2008), directed by Anders Østergaard, starring George W. Bush and Ko Muang.

11/12/2008 BR Documentary 1h 24m

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Synopsis

Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from their closed country.

Anders ØstergaardDirector, Writer
Lise Lense-MøllerProducer
Torstein NybøProducer
Jan KrogsgaardWriter

About the film

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country (Danish: Burma VJ - reporter i et lukket land; Burmese: ဘားမား ဗီဂျေ, romanized: bharrmarr begyaay) is a 2008 Danish documentary film directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution against the military regime in Burma. The "VJ" in the title stands for "video journalists." Some of it was filmed on hand-held cameras. The footage was smuggled out of the country, physically or over the Internet. Other parts of it were reconstructed, which caused controversy. The Burma VJ Media collective is still active as of 2025.

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Reception

Critical response

Burma VJ has an approval rating of 97% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 62 reviews, and an average rating of 7.69/10. The website's critical consensus states, "A powerfully visceral docu-drama highlighting the evils of censorship and the essential need for freedom of speech". It also has a score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Awards and nominations

The film won awards, especially at European film festivals, e.g. it won the Golden Apricot at the 2009 Yerevan International Film Festival, Armenia, for Best Documentary Film. It won the World Cinema Documentary Film Editing Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Burma VJ was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Box office

The film was released to one theater on 20 May 2009 and grossed $5,554 in the opening weekend. Its widest release was in three theaters. As of 1 May 2010, the total gross stands at $123,477.

DVD features

The DVD includes a message from Buddhist actor Richard Gere comparing the situation in Burma to that in Tibet.

References

External links

Burma VJ in the Danish Film Database

Burma VJ at IMDb

Burma VJ at Rotten Tomatoes

Sundance 2009 page

Text from Burma VJ on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_VJ

Trivia

It premiered on November 12, 2008, a Wednesday.
It runs 1h24 — short for a feature film.
Its original title is "Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land".
It won 2 award(s) and received 2 nomination(s) on record at Wikidata — Robert Award for Best Documentary Feature among them.
As of September 20, 2026, it is available in Brazil by subscription on DocAlliance Films.
This film's quiz has 10 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosOscilloscope
CountriesDenmark, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Belgium, Canada
LanguagesGerman, Burmese, English
StatusReleased

More about this film

Awards

Robert Award for Best Documentary Feature 2009
Bodil Award for Best Documentary 2009

Nominations

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film 2010
European Film Award for Best Documentary 2009

Set in

Myanmar

Where to watch

DocAlliance Films Streaming Rent

Cast

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Crew

Anders Østergaard Director
Lise Lense-Møller Producer
Torstein Nybø Producer
Anders Østergaard Writer
Jan Krogsgaard Writer

Questions about this film

What is Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country about?

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country: Going beyond the occasional news clip from Burma, the acclaimed filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, brings us close to the video journalists who deliver the footage. Though risking torture and life in jail, courageous young citizens of Burma live the essence of journalism as they insist on keeping up the flow of news from t…

Who directed Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country?

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country was directed by Anders Østergaard in 2008.

Who stars in Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country?

The cast of Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country includes George W. Bush, Ko Muang and Aung San Suu Kyi.

How long is Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country?

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country runs for 84 minutes, or 1h24.

Where can I watch Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country?

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country is available on DocAlliance Films. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.

What awards did Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country win?

Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country has 2 recorded awards, among them Robert Award for Best Documentary Feature and Bodil Award for Best Documentary.