Screened as part of NZIFF 2013

Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls 2012

Directed by Juliet Lamont

Guided by Australian star-maker Miss Nikki, members of Burma’s first ever girl band “attempt to push past gender and ethnic prejudices in this poppy, insider view of the nascent awakening of a closed society.” — Indiewire

Australia In Burmese and English with English subtitles
75 minutes HDCAM

Director, Sound

Producer

Jessica Douglas-Henry

Photography

Tom Jefferson
,
Juliet Lamont

Editor

Rochelle Oshlack

Music

Benjamin Speed

With

Wai Hnin
,
Kimmy
,
Ah Moon
,
Htike Htike
,
Cha Cha
,
Nikki May

Festivals

Amsterdam Documentary 2012; Sydney 2013

As Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest and the country prepares for its first free election, Miss Nikki, an Australian living in Yangon with her businessman boyfriend, Chris, has been making her own contribution to democracy in Myanmar: she is well on the way to making stars of Burma’s first girl band. Cutting across paternalistic disapproval and defying local definitions of what constitutes a pretty young woman, or even a pretty voice, Miss Nikki has pulled together an eager band of five hopefuls. But the band members are not the only ones learning their way in the shark-infested waters of a brand new pop culture. Hovering somewhere between documentary, reality TV and promotional video, Juliet Lamont’s film feeds on the energy of new-found freedoms while admitting the confusion and vulnerability that dawn when the restrictions come off and suddenly nobody’s telling a girl what to do. 

“Engaging and entertaining… the film is at its best when delving into their home lives and hopes for the future.” — Mark Adams, Screendaily