An intimate journey through an emerging ethnic nation on the rise.
Witness their highest aspirations & their darkest hours along their intergenerational struggle for self-determination.
The Kachin Independence Organization has rapidly expanded the depth & reach of its state, as it fights to reclaim most of its resource rich lands back from its occupiers, the Burmese Junta.
Follow an authentic stream of consciousness throughout over a decade of state building & civil war in Kachinland, in the Eastern Himalayas and her foothills Areas even the UN & aid agencies rarely get a glimpse of.
The Laiza hotel is an unscripted raw nuanced visual poem through this emergent nation, its people & customs.
Actively filmed in a stunning visual style over 12 years. From peace time, through the collapse of the ceasefire & into the full scale civil war.
Screenshots from the Laiza Hotel
Studio Sakse
Living Films is the leading film producer in SE Asia, producing hundreds of diverse projects that span international feature films, acclaimed TV series and world-class advertising.
Sakse has been working closely with emerging media makers from Kachinland in the foothills of the Himalayas for 15 years to produce, distribute and archive world-class photography and film content.
The Pulitzer Center is a nonprofit organization that supports independent journalism around the world.
Songs of Self-Determination
Original soundtrack available soon on BandCamp
Meet the Musicians – Large focus on sharing thier story through music
Director's Statement
The Laiza Hotel does not refer to external sources,
It is an uncompromising & raw view into a critical period of the Kachin Independence Organization’s journey of becoming a prosperous nation state
This film is a leap of faith
When it started, the Wiki entry about their revolution was 2 lines long & a BBC search for Kachin said “Error not found” for a former UK colony.
What started as a 1 month photography project on a grant from the Pulitzer Center, turned into 12 years, 60,000 photos & over 300 hours of footage.
The Laiza Hotel is filmed in an active civil war, but it is about the unbreakable spirit of autonomy. It flows through not only frontline soliders & generals but the musicians, preachers & the displaced.
Many military & civilian protagonists did not survive to see this film’s completion, This film is dedicated to them
The Kachin remain resilient & pro-active. They have now liberated much of their homeland. They invite you to witness their inter-generational struggle for self-determination.
The documentary was initially screened as an early 5 min version at the Goethe Institute in Yangon, as part of the Yangon Photo Festival in 2020
The Laiza Hotel is currently starting a festival tour.
Please get in touch if you would like to screen this at your festival or to request normal screenings after the festival tour
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Exhibitions
Stills from this same project have been exhibited over 100 times and won the Nikon Salon’s Inspiration Award in 2010. If you are interested in hosting an exhibition of these images or using them for related activism, please get in touch.
Check out more screenshots & Press information
Related Projects
The Book
Alongside the film, a photography monograph capturing the life and people in Kachin is ready to be published.
The Game
A game project called “The Battle of Burma” was developed based on the current situation of Burma. It has been showcased and played in exhibitions.
Through immersive gameplay, participants explore Burma’s political, social, and economic dynamics, gaining insight into its turbulent history and current challenges.
