Above and Below the Ground
TFI Suppport
Tribeca All Access® 2019
Logline
ABOVE AND BELOW THE GROUND tells the story of brave indigenous women activists and punk rock pastors who come together in the struggle for environmental self-determination in Myanmar’s war-torn North. A last line of defense for communities caught between coveted natural resources, military cronies, and profit-hungry multinationals, these activists fight back the best way they know how--through protest, prayer, and Karaoke music videos.
Emily Hong
Director, Cinematographer
Emily Hong is a Seoul-born and New York-raised visual anthropologist, filmmaker, and social change strategist with a decade of experience in Myanmar and Thailand. Emily’s films combine feminist, decolonial and ethnographic approaches with impact-oriented storytelling. She is co-founder of Ethnocine and Rhiza Collectives and host of Bad Feminists Making Films.
Maggie Lemere
Producer
Maggie Lemere is a filmmaker, oral historian and storytelling strategist. She’s been a conflict researcher, human rights trainer, refugee caseworker, and filmmaker across the U.S., Africa, Asia and Latin America. Maggie is editor of Nowhere to Be Home (McSweeney's), host of and founder of Rhiza Collective.
Tsa Ji
Myanmar Impact Producer
Tsa Ji, originally from Kachin State’s Hukawng Valley, is the co-founder and General Secretary of the Kachin Development Networking Group. Tsa Ji travels widely across Kachin State for social and environmental research and trainings with grassroots communities as well as around Myanmar and internationally for advocacy on natural resource management.