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To raise awareness on the human rights situation in Myanmar one year after the coup, EngageMedia has curated a playlist of films that turns the spotlight on the Myanmar people's long-standing struggle for democracy.

The director behind ‘Black Out’ shares how the Tech Tales film was created to combat widespread disinformation and fear mongering by the Myanmar junta in the aftermath of the 2021 coup.

'Black Out', a film from the Tech Tales collection, is among 40 films from or about Myanmar featured in the encore edition of the Burma Spring Benefit Film Festival running online from February 1 to 13.

A year since the military coup in Myanmar, the junta aims to reintroduce a draconian cybersecurity law that would further limit people's digital rights. In opposing such curtailments, there are lessons to be learned from the military’s past actions.

Five digital rights films from the Tech Tales collection were among the works screened for Myanmar audiences at an online film festival that aimed to raise awareness on the human rights situation in the country. As of writing, the two-day festival has garnered over 300,000 cumulative views online on the pages of local news organisations Toward Journal and Mizzima TV.

If you are a filmmaker, video journalist, or animator from Myanmar, EngageMedia invites you to submit a proposal for a short film on pressing digital rights issues currently happening in the country.One chosen filmmaker will join a talented roster of Tech Tales fellows, and will receive between 4,000 to 5,000 USD to produce a 5- to 10-minute film on a digital rights topic of their choosing."

What concrete actions can the international community do to support Myanmar's fight for democracy? EngageMedia talks to prominent pro-democracy activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi on how exactly the military is using technology against protesters, and what kinds of support Myanmar civil society needs to continue their fight for democracy.

This statement by civil society organisations in Myanmar was originally published in Free Expression Myanmar, a Coconet community member, on February 11, 2021. It has been republished here with permission. For more timely updates on #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar, check out and follow the Twitter accounts of Coconet members Free Expression Myanmar and Myanmar ICT for Development Organisation (MIDO).

Free Expression Myanmar analyses how and why the military's draft Cyber Security Law poses risks to human and digital rights to the people of Myanmar.