Photo/Illutration A scene from “Ein,” a film Thein Dan wrote and directed (Provided by the Japan Institute of the Moving Image)

A Myanmar filmmaker who has lived in Japan since the age of 6 was detained as a political prisoner in his homeland after the military coup in February.

His friends in Japan are trying to come up with ways to ensure the release of Thein Dan, a permanent resident of Japan, including a screening of one of his films to raise awareness of his plight.

The 37-year-old filmmaker who goes by the name of Dan among his friends is being detained at Insein Prison in Yangon.

Journalist Yuki Kitazumi, a friend of Dan, and other sources said Dan was arrested in April and was indicted on suspicion of supporting anti-coup protests by using $2,000 (219,000 yen) that he allegedly earned by selling footage to Kitazumi.

Kitazumi, who was detained by the Myanmar military for about a month from April, said he has never received footage from Dan nor paid money to him.

Dan moved to Japan for reasons of his father’s work and entered an elementary school in Ibaraki Prefecture.

After graduating from high school, Dan joined the Japan Academy of Moving Images (JAMI) in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he studied film direction and other skills.

He has since served, for example, as assistant director for cinematic works.

JAMI is the predecessor of today’s Japan Institute of the Moving Image (JIMI), a single-subject college.

Dan started traveling back and forth between Japan and Myanmar around 2018 to work on his videos and movies. He set up his own company in Yangon.

Last year, he completed a short film that won awards at film festivals in Myanmar and elsewhere.

Then came the coup in February.

Dan filmed scenes of anti-military protests. He is believed to have been targeted in the military’s crackdown partly because he was on friendly terms with young protesters.

On April 17, servicemen and police officers raided a residential complex in Yangon where Japanese officials were living and forced their way into a diplomat’s residence. Sources said the soldiers were looking for Dan.

The same day, Dan was arrested at a Yangon hotel, the sources said.

Kitazumi, who was arrested the following day, was reunited with Dan in the prison in May.

Dan looked fine, but he told Kitazumi that he had been tortured into signing a false deposition at a military facility.

Dan, who is under trial, could face a maximum prison term of three years.

Officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry said they are aware of the case and are calling on the Myanmar military to release detainees, including Dan.

“Ein,” Dan’s 2006 graduation movie that he wrote and directed, was screened at JIMI on July 24. The event was attended by around 70 people, including JIMI officials and students, as well as those who were Dan’s contemporaries at JAMI.

“Ein” is the Burmese word for “home.” The film features a boy who came to Japan from Myanmar with his family but has difficulty adapting to Japanese society. The movie shows his formative interactions with various grown-ups.

During a post-screening symposium, JIMI President Daisuke Tengan, who supervised Dan on the work, said Dan told him that he wanted to write a story about himself.

“I want him to know that I am concerned about him,” Tengan said.

Kitazumi also attended the symposium as a panelist and said: “I want Dan released as soon as possible. I hope to begin (my efforts) by having many people learn about Dan.”

Masahiro Inagaki, a 42-year-old JAMI contemporary of Dan who attended the screening, said he will think about what he can do.

“I will tell my other contemporaries about today’s event,” he said.

The Directors Guild of Japan, in a July 21 statement issued under the name of President Yoichi Sai, called for Dan’s immediate release.

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