In the Magway region of Myanmar, a country home to one of the oldest petroleum industries in the world, live husband and wife Thein Shwe and Htwe Tin. Running an unregulated oil field, they produce a barrel every few days. They wish above all else to see their youngest son succeed, to break the cycle of poverty. A kettle boils. Mud slicked hands work sputtering machines. The ambient sound of a football match hums from a nearby television. “These days passed quickly”, Htwe says.

From Palestinian-British filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky, A Thousand Fires is a portrait of a family in flux, and a story of intergenerational conflict and compromise. It is a film of transient moments; of hopes and aspirations; of faith in the forces of karma and luck; of a place, a community, and the rhythms of a day to day; of lingering memories and a turbulent past; and of life persisting, regardless. A life hard fought for, a stillness earned. The days pass quickly.

A Thousand Fires is directed by Saeed Taji Farouky and a coproduction of BIND. Made with support from:
L’Aide aux cinémas du monde – Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image animée – Institut Français, Federal Office of Culture (FOC), Cinéforom and Loterie Romande , The Netherlands Filmfund, Creative Europe – A Program of European Union, Field of Vision, Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust

Director
Saeed Taji Farouky

Producer
Estelle Robin You (Point du Jour – Les films du Balibari) 

Coproducers
Palmyre Badinier (AKKA Films)
Joram Willink (BIND)

Associate producer
May Odeh (Odeh Films)

In coproduction with
RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse
KRO – NCRV
Al Jazeera documentary channel