Director: The Maw Naing
Runtime: 90 min
Country: Myanmar, Czech Republic
Language: Burmese with English subtitles
Rating: PG

Informed by a strong Buddhist sensibility, The Monk is a compassionate look at faith and spirituality in Myanmar. Saved from the streets as a child by his superior, Zawana has spent much of his life in a rural monastery. As it now faces financial difficulties, the departure of many monks, and an ailing superior, many paths open out before him. Will he remain to support his community?  ill The follow another novice to the more flexible city monastery? Will he choose the village girl for whom he has developed feelings? With earnestness and gritty realism, the film explores an internal struggle that speaks to the situation of a country that, after decades of repression, has now to choose a new future.