Though these films neatly complement each other, they are being received rather differently. \u201cThe Venerable W.\u201d was shown with pomp at Cannes, while \u201cSittwe\u201d was banned from the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Yangon. This year\u2019s edition was dedicated to Miss Suu Kyi, Myanmar\u2019s de facto leader, with censors deeming the movie \u201creligiously and culturally inappropriate\u201d. Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch\u2019s Asia division, brands the decision as \u201cludicrous\u201d. The ban, he explains, reveals the government\u2019s authorities persistent bias against the Rohingya and the reluctance to present them as victims in any capacity. \u201cThe Rohingya have been put in a separate, untouchable category by the government, and any real discussion of their situation gets tarred with the same brush.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSittwe\u201d found an audience in Thailand instead. For Lia Sciortino Sumaryono, the director of Southeast Asia Junction, a non-profit organisation which hosted the screenings in Bangkok, the issue is relevant to the whole region. \u201cExtremists movements are increasingly regionalised,\u201d she says, pointing at the several contacts between extremist Buddhist networks in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and those of Islamist groups in the Philippines and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Venerable W.\u201d and \u201cSittwe\u201d offer some insight into a social and religious quagmire. Were the country open to talking meaningfully about relations between Buddhists and Muslims, the films could form part of the discussion. As it is not, acts of violence are likely to continue. <\/p>\n