The Bad Man
Ongoing for over 70 years, Myanmar has the world's longest-running civil war. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is the ethnic rebel group most vehemently opposed to the ruling military junta and has been strongly suppressed for its secession movement. The protagonist of The Bad Man was conscripted into the KIA as a child, transforming him from an innocent kid into a nasty battle-hardened individual who talks about killing as though it were a game. The Bad Man documents the life of this former KIA soldier, who, after witnessing the horrors of war, now stands at a crossroads forced to choose his future.
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Lee Yong-ChaoDirectorBlood Amber
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:1 hour 16 minutes
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Completion Date:November 5, 2020
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Production Budget:50,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Taiwan
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Country of Filming:Myanmar
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Language:Chinese
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Shooting Format:HD
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Locarno Film FestivalLocarno
Swaziland
August 1, 2020
World Premiere
Semaine de la Critique -
DMZ International Documentary Film FestivalDMZ
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
September 1, 2021
Asia Premiere
Official Selection -
Taipei Film FestivalTaipei
Taiwan
June 1, 2021
Taiwan Premiere
Official Selection -
Taiwan International Documentary FestivalTaipei
Taiwan
May 5, 2022
Official Selection
Distribution Information
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Taiwan Public Television ServiceDistributorCountry: WorldwideRights: All Rights
LEE Yong-Chao was born in the rural countryside of northern Burma. In 2015, he was accepted into the 7th Golden Horse Film Academy founded by Hou Hsiao-Hsien. He produces his films mainly in Taiwan and Burma. One of his short films was nominated at the Busan International Film Festival competition. Another short film shot simply on a smartphone was nominated for the Warsaw Film Festival competition. Blood Amber is his first feature documentary.
The documentary, The Bad Man, outlines a story that is similar to my childhood experience. The protagonist in the film was captured by the Kachin Independence Army to serve as a soldier, which completely changed his life forever. I can remember one night as a child, the Kachin Independence Army broke into my house and conscripted me to serve in the army. Based on these experiences, when I encountered the protagonist, I couldn’t help but ask myself, "If I had failed to escape that night when the Army came for me, would my life have turned out the same as this man's? So I made this film.