The secret training mission behind Oscar-nominated Burma VJ

Peter Hiscocks

The work of the Thomson Foundation in training on the ground lay behind the internationally-acclaimed documentary nominated for an Oscar award.

The movie Burma VJ has already won more than 40 awards worldwide and tells the story of the video journalists working undercover in Burma who brought extraordinary pictures of the uprising in September 2007 to the world. It was a strong contender for Best Documentary Feature at Hollywood’s 2010 Academy Awards.

But the extraordinary risks faced by this band of journalists began before violence broke out in their home country. For they were smuggled out of Burma to be trained in a secret operation by Thomson Foundation senior consultant Peter Hiscocks.

Peter, a highly-experienced journalist who has worked for the Thomson Foundation for thirteen years, was working in Oslo with the Democratic Voice of Burma, supporting the launch of a new weekly television programme beamed by satellite directly into Burma.

When the question of the quality of the material being smuggled out of the country arose, it was agreed that he should go to Thailand to train the secret cameramen (and women) on a one-to-one basis.

He travelled to Bangkok and would-be video journalists were smuggled into Thailand to meet him. Each new VJ was given a small but high-quality camcorder and taught the basics of camerawork, film grammar and democratic journalism before slipping back into their homeland.

But, as this trailer for Burma VJ reveals, no-one knew at the time just how significant their role would turn out to be.

He then moved north to Chiang Mai where he trained the staff at the DVB secret headquarters and helped the organisation move to a new building to avoid police harrassment.

The training work was filmed by Danish film maker Anders Ostergaard and Peter acted as interviewer to uncover the problems of working as a journalist in such a closed country as Burma. Strict secrecy and anonymity had to be observed throughout the project.

But a few months later events overtook the project as the monks in the country began to stand up to the military dictators. And now, because the video journalists were competent and well-organised, they could get their extraordinary footage of events out for the world to see.

Said Peter: “These are extremely brave men and women, who I know only by their codenames. They put their lives at risk on a daily basis.

“Some are now in prison serving long sentences. All of them were dedicated to bringing freedom to their homeland and it was an honour and a privilege to work with them.”

Burma VJ is a moving piece of work which skilfully links the real footage with carefully staged realistic reconstructions. The film serves to remind all journalists just how important – and dangerous – telling the truth can really be. It is also a brilliant example of documentary film-making, worthy of its many international accolades.

Added Peter: “I believe the training the Thomson Foundation did shows the importance of work on the ground. We gave the VJs of Burma the tools and they did the job.

“And they will continue to do it.”

• Peter Hiscocks is a former former radio and television journalist, and award-winning documentary producer/director for BBC TV. He is now freelance and has trained with the Thomson Foundation in 32 countries since 1987.

• The Oscar for Best Documentary Feature went to The Cove, a film about the secret slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese town. Burmese actor Kyaw Thu said after the awards that those involved in Burma VJ should be proud to be nominated, even though they missed out on an award. Burma VJ is a film by Anders Østergaard, in collaboration with The co-operative and Dogwoof films.

A scene from the internationally-acclaimed Burma VJ. Picture courtesy of Dogwoof films

A Burmese journalist, right, receives video training, filmed by the makers of Burma VJ. Director Anders Ostergaard is pictured second from right, with cameraman Simon Plum