After Myanmar’s coup, a Burmese rock star is buried in exile, rebuilding life in America as music and revolution echo from a country he cannot return to.

The story

After Myanmar’s military coup in 2021, a Burmese rock musician is forced into exile. Once a public figure at home, he now lives in the United States, working a warehouse job while remaining deeply tied to a country he cannot return to.

The film follows his life in the present. Between work, family, and music, he carries the weight of a revolution he can no longer witness firsthand. Songs become a way of holding onto memory and political belief, even as distance and time reshape what resistance looks like.

Songs They Buried observes exile not as a moment of escape, but as a prolonged condition. Safety comes with loss. Home exists only through sound, memory, and what cannot be spoken aloud.

I began Songs They Buried after Myanmar’s military coup in 2021. As the country descended into civil war, millions were displaced, including artists, journalists, and activists forced into exile. Among them was R Zarni, a nationally known rock musician.

What drew me to him was not his fame, but what he gave up — a celebrated public life replaced by anonymity and physical labor in the United States. His decision to continue believing in democracy from exile became the center of this film.

The production required constant negotiation with risk. Locations could not be revealed, and during the concert shoot we received threats. Fear shaped the film’s restraint and silence.

I am the daughter of a political refugee and was raised along the Thailand–Myanmar border. Much of my work has focused on displacement and survival. This film is about exile as an ongoing condition, and how music carries memory and resistance across distance..

Director’s Statement

What happened in Myanmar?

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In February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, overturning the results of a national election and detaining elected civilian leaders. Peaceful protests erupted across the country and were met with violent repression. Security forces carried out mass arrests, used lethal force against demonstrators, and imposed sweeping restrictions on media and civil society.

As resistance spread, civilians formed armed groups alongside long-standing ethnic armed organizations, and the crisis escalated into a nationwide civil war. Tens of thousands have been killed and more than three million people displaced internally and across borders. Large parts of the population now live under military rule, prolonged conflict, or in exile.

As the global spotlight fades, the violence in Myanmar continues. Refugee artists like Zarni are risking everything to keep the resistance alive through their art. This film captures a rare moment in time—one that could be lost without your support.