A deep bond with unpredictable undercurrents forms between textile workers San Kyi and Theint Theint Oo. Is there a chance for something deeper between them or is the inexorable pull downwards inescapable in a Myanmar torn apart by brutal violence? Aung Phyoe’s heady drama dances between doom and desire.
2026
Fruit Gathering
2026
Fruit Gathering
Australian Premiere.
Director
Aung Phyoe
Runtime
97 Minutes
Country
Czech Republic, France, Myanmar
Classification
Unclassified 15+
With Myanmar’s film industry derailed by a military dictatorship and heavy censorship, it’s a miracle that Aung Phyoe’s debut feature (a Myanmar, Czech and French co-production) was made. Premiering at Karlovy Vary with powerful yet measured performances, Phyoe’s queer vision was rewarded with the coveted Crystal Globe. Nandar Myat Aung plays San Kyi, a listless textile worker daydreaming of leaving city life to return home to the upcountry. That possibility, however distant, expands to encompass a much grander ambition with the arrival of a new co-worker, Theint Theint Oo (Nandar Myint Lwin). Handsomely shot by cinematographer Thaiddhi, Fruit Gathering tackles everything from the generational impacts of such violence to the country’s strict patriarchal structures and economic hardship, all while never losing sight of the capacity for both human tenderness and cruelty.
“A delicate, sometimes elusive debut about female intimacy and the quiet violence of expectations that leave little room for desire.”
Cineuropa
“A quiet but deeply unsettling debut … Fruit Gathering is less about queer identity as such than about the universal mechanics of attachment. A genuinely beautiful and deeply affecting work.”
FilmInk
Karlovy Vary – Grand Prix Crystal Globe
Film Credits
Director
Aung Phyoe
Year
2026
Country
Czech Republic, France & Myanmar
Language
Burmese
Subtitles
English
Type
Feature Fiction
Program Strand
Feature Fiction Competition
Producer
Thu Thu Shein & Thaiddhi
Writer
Aung Phyoe
Cinematographer
Thaiddhi
Editor
Emily Swe
Cast
Min Nyo, Nandar Myat Aung, Nandar Myint Lwin, Thida Soe Khant & Tin Tin Ei
Film Source
Third Floor Film Production
Genre
Asia, Drama, LGBTQIA+, Romance & Women
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