Exiled Myanmar director Thet Paing Win, known professionally The Khit Nay, released his 2026 feature film RAY The Movie documenting the sacrifices of artists and public figures who joined the armed resistance following the 2021 military coup..
“They traded their crowns, medals, and comfortable lives for a fight that demanded their very souls. From the agonizing silence of interrogation rooms to the brutal reality of the jungle,” states the film’s synopsis.
The Khit Nay told DVB that he also wanted his latest film to reflect on Myanmar’s previous pro-democracy movements in 1962 and 1988. RAY The Movie is based on the book “Ma Yai Lae Tan [Unshakable]” by Khat Zaw.
It is also based on the true story of Htar Htet Htet, a 36-year-old who left behind a successful modelling and acting career in Myanmar to resist the 2021 coup.
She fled her home in Yangon to Karen State, where she received military training from the Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO)–one of the armed wings of the Karen National Union (KNU)–in April 2021 after an arrest warrant was issued for her.
The following year, in 2022, Htar Htet Htet was granted asylum in Australia.
The film was produced by Robert and Sophia Sarkis, who are a Lebanese-Myanmar couple living in Australia with three children. Sophia Sarkis was crowned the Mrs. Universe Australia Charity Queen 2022 and used the platform to speak out against the 2021 coup.
Besides Htar Htet Htet, the film features prominent Myanmar actors Min Maw Kunn and Daung (Thura Aung), who were also resettled to Australia in 2022-23 after arrest warrants were issued for them due to anti-coup activism.
The Khit Nay, 42, was resettled to Australia in 2023 with his wife and daughter after an arrest warrant was issued in Myanmar for his anti-coup activism in August 2021.
Under his production company, The Yangon Picture, The Khit Nay has written and directed at least three TV series from 2018-2020 before joining the 2021 anti-coup protests.
His film credits include “Myo Pya Pyauk Kyar [Urben Guerrilla]” and “Ma Nat Phan The Thin Nae Thet Sai Hmu Ma Shi Say Ya [Tomorrow Isn’t For Everyone].”
RAY The Movie premiered in Sydney, Australia, on June 21 with screenings in Melbourne and Perth on June 28. It was also screened in New York City on Sept. 3.
It will be screened in Taiwan and South Korea on Sept. 13 with Singapore expected later this month. Next month, screenings are planned for New York City on Oct. 3 and San Francisco, California, on Oct. 10.
Proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward humanitarian relief efforts inside Myanmar. For more information, go to RAY The Movie on Facebook.
Myanmar filmmaker The Khit Nay at the screening of his film RAY The Movie at the University of Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Asia Centre, in Australia, on June 28. (Credit: RAY The Movie)
