La Doyenne du Monde - The Movie
In November 2019, I travelled to Myanmar with a photographer friend, Alexandre Sattler. He was in search of a woman he met a few years earlier, in the mountains of Shan State, in Myanmar. From this journey, I created the film “La Doyenne du Monde”, as well as a book of the same name.
Durée : 26 min
SYNOPSIS
The film tells the story of a French photographer traveling to Myanmar in order to meet again an elderly woman he photographed some years before.
Alexandre Sattler is a travel travel photographer. One of his most famous image is the portrait of an elderly Pa-o lady. On her face, wrinkles which tell stories about her life, and behind the prints of time, a surprising peace. Alexandre didn’t know much about her, he didn’t even know her name nor her age, but in his heart, she was the oldest woman on earth, so he nicknamed her “La Doyenne du Monde”, literally the Doyenne of the World. Five years after this picture, he decided to go back to Myanmar to seek the Doyenne in the mountains of Shan State, and learn about her story and her life.
Countless times in my travels, I felt grateful for the kindness I was offered, for all the people who trusted me, all the people who opened their doors. So when Alexandre told me about his project to meet again this lady to thank her and give something in return, I thought I could go with him and make a short movie about his quest. This short adventure in the intimacy of local farmers from the Pa-o tribe is teaching us lessons.
The movie is available on Vimeo, check the link below.
