Yangon Film School

Founded by Anglo-Burmese filmmaker Lindsey Merrison in 2005, the Yangon Film School (YFS) is an award-winning Berlin-based non-profit organisation that was created in order to train and support a diverse and professional community of young media workers in Myanmar, thereby promoting the country's transition to a democratic nation. Since its first pioneering residential workshop in 2005, the trainings, and the cinematic output, have gone from strength to strength. YFS regularly brings together experienced filmmakers from around the world and young Myanmar men and women from all over Myanmar, some of whom have little or no prior experience in media, for regular film trainings held primarily in Yangon, on many aspects of filmmaking – but with a particular emphasis on documentary. In ten years of activity, YFS has held over 60 training courses and workshops and provided training free of charge to more than 165 students. Over 70% of our alumni are still working in the media and/or using film in their development work. In the last decade YFS has produced over 180 films, many of which have screened at festivals at home and abroad and a growing number of which, such as A Sketch of Wathone, Again and Again, Tyres, Behind the Screen, Empty Nest, The Bamboo Grove and A Million Threads, are also winning awards. Several titles have also been aired on Myanmar television.