MEMORY! International Film Festival Yangon - Myanmar Script Fund - Myanmar Film Heritage Project contact@memorycinema.org Myanmar Script Fund, Competition and Education Program for emerging filmmakers In 2016, MEMORY! Cinema Association launched the Myanmar Script Fund (MSF), a production fund to provide scenario development assistance to the new generation of upcoming Myanmar film directors. Context and Objectives Myanmar was since the early 1920s, one of the biggest and most vibrant cinema industries in Southeast Asia. Then in 1962, and for over 50 years, the country was deprived access to foreign films, and the local film industry fell under the strict scrutiny of censorship, a combination which slowly destroyed the cinema industry in the country. Today, the film production industry is being reborn. In addition, the development of private television networks, like FOREVER Group for example, offers interesting opportunities to help and encourage the reconstruction and development of high quality cinema production in Myanmar. However, one of the weak links in this development remains the lack of skills and knowledge of upcoming filmmakers, particularly in the field of script writing. It is in this context, based on the already established reputation of MEMORY! Festival in Myanmar, that the idea for MSF was born and integrated as part of the festival program, thus adding a forward-looking dimension to the Festival’s primary role of promoting the preservation of Myanmar’s national cinema heritage, by offering an opportunity to nurture the cinema of tomorrow. The objective of MSF is to identify key young talents and guide and train them to master international film production standards and methods. The focus point of MSF takes place during the annual MEMORY! Festival in Yangon in November each year. Budding film makers from Myanmar come together for 4 days of intensive workshops and conferences hosted by internationally renowned actors and film makers. Festival has secured unique partnerships with industry specific partners such as the Festival del Film Locarno/Open Doors, FAMU (Film & TV School of Academy in Performing Arts in Prague), the Yangon Film School, Arte Cinema and the Myanmar Motion Picture Association. Under the High Patronage of the Ministry of Information, this event was supported in 2016 by MMPO, Institut français. Goethe Institut, CNC and Forever. Web site: http://www.memoryfilmfestival.org/myanmar-script-fund/