The Moken are a seafaring, nomadic group who live along the Andaman Sea from Indonesia to Myanmar. Almost every single Moken survived the tsunami of 2004, thanks to premonitions from their shamans and wisdom gained from generations of living symbiotically with the sea. Numbering less than three thousand, the Moken since have come under unprecedented pressure to assimilate into the mainstream and the mainland. This culture is evaporating and, along with it, their vast wisdom of the sea. This feature-length film explores the Moken’s mythology, language, and relationship with the ocean. (Dir.: Olivia Wyatt, Myanmar/Thailand, 2015, 65 min., DCP, Moken, Thai, Southern Thai, and Burmese with English subtitles)
Preceded by:
The Fox of Shichigorosawa
(Dir.: Tune Sugihara, Japan, 2014, animated, 14 min., DCP, Ainu with English subtitles)