Yamin Tun
Director, Writer
Writer/director Yamin Tun draws on her experience as a refugee, immigrant and volunteer to make films that "describe immense societal change". Born in Burma, Tun got a Bachelor of Arts at Oxford University, then lived in Italy and Hong Kong. After moving with her Kiwi partner to New Zealand, she won a scholarship at Unitec and studied directing and screenwriting. In 2013 she finished two shorts; in 2016 she made two more. One of them, Wait, explored the bond between a Chinese immigrant mother and daughter in 1980s Aotearoa. It was the first Mandarin language film to win Best Short at the NZ International Film Festival.
The word 'wait' is evocative for me and many asylum seekers because we spent so many years waiting for immigration status. Many of my memories are of waiting on plastic chairs in immigration halls for another stamp on a piece of paper. Writer/director Yamin Tun on the title of her short film Wait, The NZ Herald, 27 September 2016
