Everything is Temporary

When filmmaker Juliette Klinke left for Myanmar in 2020, she had no idea of the upheavals the country was about to experience. Amid the darkness of the Covid-19 pandemic and the violent coup d’état, one light shines: that of 17-year-old Zu Zu and her steadfast dream of a better future for her people. A moving portrait of friendship and resilience in a time of political and social upheaval.

In the summer of 2020, filmmaker Juliette Klinke travels to Myanmar to join her partner. She barely knows the country, but unexpectedly finds a second home there with the family of Zu Zu, a 17-year-old girl who spends her days running a roadside food stall. While Myanmar is in the grip of the corona pandemic, Zu Zu dreams of the day when universities reopen so she can fulfill her ambition to become a police officer. 

Using modest means, Klinke captures the blossoming friendship between her and Zu Zu, a relationship that grows deeper and deeper. But on 1 February 2021, everything changes. A military coup plunges the country into chaos and suppresses the hopes of an entire generation. For Zu Zu, her future plans seem further away than ever, while Juliette is stuck in a country where the balance of power has abruptly shifted. What begins as an intimate and personal cinematic account takes on broader, more urgent connotations. Zu Zu’s words and looks become a testimony to a generation that refuses to resign itself to the status quo.