Release date: 2021
Total Running Time: To be determined
Language: Burmese and English
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Cast: Talar Hso
Director: Aby Rao
Content Links: Will be updated after film release.
About the film
Lampya, The Guide, is a feature film, set for 2021 release, is about Talar Hso who lives in the small town of Mebane, North Carolina. Talar moved to the US with her family from a refugee camp in Thailand. She belongs to the Burmese-Karen community who have a reasonable presence in central North Carolina. Since childhood she was associated with Transplanting traditions farm based out of Chapel Hill, NC. This film is a character study of Talar, her environment and her aspiration to work towards the betterment of refugees and immigrants who enter the US under difficult circumstances. The combination of documentary-style live-action footage, blended with Talar’s fantasy brought to life by human puppets, gives this film a unique feel and tone.
Production notes
The film’s aesthetics are inspired by the films Beasts of the Southern Wild and Where the Wild Things Are. The film is entirely shot in central NC, especially Chapel Hill and Mebane. The farm in this film is called Transplanting traditions farm in located in Chapel Hill. The mission of the farm is to provide refugee adults and youth access to land, healthy food and agricultural and entrepreneurial opportunities. We spent a lot of time on the farm and got a chance to watch them operate. The farmers and the farm staff are courteous, polite and honestly care about their mission.