DVB Peacock Film Festival awards winners at ceremony
Fragment of Witness, which is about the March 28 earthquake, won The International Jury Best Choice Award and the DVB Short Docs Contest Award at the DVB Peacock Film Festival 2025 on Wednesday at Chiang Mai University. Melody of Hope, which tells the story of children in Burma living under the threat of airstrikes, received “Special Mention” in the DSDC category. Thirst Amidst Turmoil won the News Feature Award.
The DVB Organizer’s Choice Award went to The Unbroken Spirits of 1027, which documents two political prisoners who resumed anti-military coup activities upon release from prison. The Middle Land of the Displaced won the CJ Shorts Award. Star, which tells the story of a university lecturer who joins the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the 2021 coup in Burma earned “Special Mention” in the same category.
A total of 30 films were screened in the four categories of DVB Short Docs Contest, News Feature, CJ Shorts and DVB Organizers Choice. This is the fourth year of documentary film screenings organized by the DVB Multimedia Group in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and the second annual DVB Peacock Film Festival. Special screenings of award-winning films from Norway, the Czech Republic, and Australia were included.
The UK states regime’s 2025-26 elections will not be ‘free and fair’
The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) stated on Wednesday, International Human Rights Day, that there is no situation in which Burma’s regime 2025-26 elections, which are scheduled to begin on Dec. 28 and continue into January 2026, can be considered “free and fair.”
“Any meaningful election requires an end to violence and dialogue among all parties concerned. Unfortunately, there are no indications that the currently planned elections will meet these conditions or be delivered in a way that could be perceived as free or fair,” stated an FCDO spokesperson. “The U.K. is concerned that elections held in these circumstances risk greater escalation and violence.”
The U.K called on the regime to release State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint,who’ve been held in prison since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021. It also demanded an end to “airstrikes on civilians” in Burma, and the full implementation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five Point Consensus, the regional bloc’s peace plan agreed to by regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in 2021 but not implemented.
A successful silent strike in Myanmar?
Residents in Yangon told DVB that activity on the streets of Burma’s largest city was less busy on Wednesday as pro-democracy activists called for a silent strike to protest the regime elections. The silent strike called for residents to stay indoors and to refrain from economic activity from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 10. Burma’s first silent strike was held on the same date in 2021 to protest the coup earlier that year, on Feb. 1.
“I saw fewer pedestrians on the street than usual,” a Yangon resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. Sources close to the regime in Naypyidaw told DVB that military intelligence officials dressed in civilian attire were out on the streets of Yangon in full force yesterday searching for any sight of a protest, or gathering, or a business that was closed without good reason.
The General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB) shared photos of less busy streets in Burma’s second-largest city Mandalay, as well as the Sagaing Region capital Monywa, and Karen State’s Myawaddy town along the Burma-Thailand border on Dec. 10. Yangon People’s Strike shared photos of a signboard along Sule Pagoda Road in downtown Yangon on Dec. 9 stating “reject and defy the regime’s sham election.”
News by Region
KACHIN—Sources close to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) told DVB that fighting over control of Bhamo Township was ongoing as it reached its first anniversary on Dec. 4. Bhamo is located 118 miles (190 km) south of the state capital Myitkyina and 56 miles (90 km) southwest of the KIA headquarters of Laiza.
A KIA source told DVB on the condition of anonymity that regime forces resumed their counteroffensive in Bhamo on Nov. 30 and have deployed armored vehicles and have fired artillery against KIA-led resistance forces, which includes its allied People’s Defense Force (PDF). Read more
SAGAING–At least two residents of Mingin Township were killed and an unknown number of civilians were injured by airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force on three villages Monday. Ten PDF members were also reportedly killed. Mingin is located 114 miles (183 km) north of Monywa.
“Most of those killed were civilians,” a Mingin resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity, adding that regime forces were targeting a PDF camp with airstrikes but struck a residential area. One school was destroyed by an airstrike in Mingin, according to residents.
YANGON—Regime authorities at Yangon International Airport and the Ministry of Immigration and Population told DVB that Myint Kyaing, the regime Minister of Immigration and Population, has ordered officials to monitor foreigners entering Myanmar ahead of the regime elections.
“The minister said that apart from China and Russia, [foreigners] could spread misinformation about the elections and ordered a thorough inspection,” an airport official told DVB on condition of anonymity, adding that staff was directed to contact military intelligence if they suspect anyone. Read more
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