http://www.photojournale.com/categories.php?cat_id=162 A land of raised fists against raised batons.
A land scarred by cyclones and drug trade.

And yet, Burma is also a land of creation, innovation, inspiration. A cocoon where a thousand metamorphoses take place and a thousand butterflies take flight - rock stars and intellectuals, journalists and bar owners, high tech monks and transsexuals, contemporary artists and daredevil entrepreneurs. Even caught in a nightmare, Burma never stops dreaming.

Photographer Brice Richard and filmmaker Anne Murat captured a glimpse of that little known side of Burma. Through 66 interviews and portraits of social, intellectual, religious and artistic pioneers, they bring forth the image of a country not chained to the past, but soaring towards the future.

The documentary presented this year at UCLA is the fruit of the 15,000 pictures and 40 hours of video they brought back. More than a tribute to the enduring spirit of the Burmese people, ?Rangoon Cocoon ? A story of Burmese Butterflies? illustrates how the faintest flapping of wings can herald the most profound changes.

Samples of the documentary are available online at www.rangooncocoon.com.
Prints of the photo exhibition are available for purchase at www.bricerichard.com.

Photo documentary story / Photojournal by French photographer Brice Richard]]> Sat, 07 Mar 2026 09:39:11 GMT http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4223 Tue, 11 May 2010 22:05:15 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4223 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4222 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:28:23 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4222 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4221 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:25:52 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4221 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4220 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:22:59 GMT
?25 years ago, people would take care of their parents in their old age. But nowadays, many children do not want to take their responsibility? sneers Nwe Nwe Thwe, a nurse in charge of a sanatorium in the vicinity of Mandalay. In this retirement home live those whose family no longer want to take care of. Management has recently built some new rooms, but patients still lack essential things: proper medication, bed sheets, clothes, staff?Only one nurse is in charge of 85 patients, some above ninety years old.

?These old people, back in the days, they had money, prestige, friends, adds Nwe Nwe Thwe. Now, they have nothing, nobody. They need a family. I, on my end, lost my mother and my father when I was young. I need them as much as they need me.?]]> Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4220 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4219 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:10:10 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4219 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4218 Tue, 11 May 2010 03:02:14 GMT
?I founded this school a few years ago with some friends. Most of the children here are sent to us by underfunded public school that do not have the means to take care of them. Many of them have never learned anything substantial yet. Some 10 year olds do not even know their alphabet. Their parents probably could not afford the private tutoring classes that you need in Burma to be able to follow in class.

Khyaketwine was officially recognized by the Ministry of Education last summer. Thanks to that, we?ve been eligible for teacher training, and I enrolled in a workshop organized by the Japanese government. I learned there how to use new teaching methods, how to force students to interact with me rather than relying on repetition. Even the little ones still require a lot of guidance and support, the older ones now start to enjoy self-learning. When they master some vocabulary on their own, it makes them so proud and eager to learn more !?]]> Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4218 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4217 Tue, 11 May 2010 02:59:38 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4217 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4216 Tue, 11 May 2010 02:55:06 GMT Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4216 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4215 Tue, 11 May 2010 02:46:36 GMT
?Even if it pays less, I prefer to keep my classes under 10 pupils. Only at this condition can I have the latitude to get to know them, and understand why this kid is angry or this one improves faster than the others, so as to maximize the potential of every single one. Even if there is common base you can draw on to teach children, teaching really is a case by case activity. That?s why I observe my class, learn about it, then think about the way to go. It?s a real philosophy : ?Classology?.?

If a student spends his time listing, he will forget. But if he participates, he?ll never forget. That?s why I use magazines like ?Times? and ?Newsweek? to initiate some debates in class. They don?t understand everything, but they learn to recognize an ad in the paper or a movie star. To me, a language is a living entity, which changes the vision of the one that studies it, which can make a student more independent. Some parents do not like that and ask me why I don?t force my students to learn by heart. Initiative is not really part of their learning culture.?]]> Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4215 http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4214 Tue, 11 May 2010 02:40:49 GMT
?When I opened my school in 1992, after I came back from India, I had only 3 students. Today, I have more than 500. I need more space, but I don't own the land, and charges have doubled recently. Since I only charge $3 a day to each student, I have no choice: I must find something cheaper. Many of my students are too poor to even pay $3, but I?d rather move than force them to pay. It?s just the way I am.?]]> Rangoon Cocoon | When Burma takes flight http://www.photojournale.com/details.php?image_id=4214