Ed. Note: The Video these two guys made is at the bottom of this article!
Citizen-Times – Two brothers-turned-filmmakers have produced an Internet video to help a teenage Burmese refugee headed for a new home in the U.S.
Andrew and Benjamin Schultz recently won second place in a nationwide Home Depot/YouTube contest with their short video “A Home for Mark,” about their efforts to help the teenager now living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Their short video has drawn more than 2,350 hits on the popular video Web site.
Benjamin, 21, is behind the camera, while Andrew, 25, appears on screen, pointing out the garage the brothers want to renovate to provide a home for Mark, a Karen tribesman who fled Burmese persecution, along with his family.
“My brother and I filmed these images on location in Thailand/Burma, shooting a documentary about Mark and his people who face ethnic persecution. Additional footage gratefully used by permission from Free Burma Rangers. Additional footage shot on location in Mae La Camp, Freedom House, operated by Christian Freedom International.” — YouTube user MaeSotwood
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The Karen are an ethnic minority living in the north of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, who have been persecuted by the repressive military regime, Benjamin Schultz explained. This summer, the military crushed peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
The brothers traveled to Thailand last year, shooting the documentary “Freedom House, “ about the teenage refugees who crossed the border from Burma.
“We wanted to get cameras into the hands of orphans who have survived the fighting and let them make movies about who they are,” Andrew Schultz said. “These kids went from fleeing the jungles to living in a mucky and dangerous refugee camp. Now they’re making movies, coming to America, speaking on behalf of their people.”
The brothers grew especially close to Mark, known as Winnerlynn in his native dialect.
“Mark has this huge personality. The camera loves him, but he became such a close friend to us while we were filming in Thailand,” Andrew said.
They volunteered to house Mark and his mother, who are being resettled in the U.S. under a United Nations program.
The brothers heard about The Home Depot contest and posted a short clip, which ranked among YouTube’s top 50 most popular videos. They placed second in the competition, winning a $200 gift card from Home Deport to help renovate a garage apartment for Mark and his mother.
Meanwhile, they are in post-production on their documentary and hope to premiere the film in Western North Carolina in 2008.
“YouTube is a great tool for independent filmmakers to get their story out there,” Benjamin Schultz said.
