Tiane Doan na Champassak
Natpwe, The Feast of the Spirits
2012, 31 min

The Feast of the Spirits is a haunting black-and-white documentary that captures an annual Burmese trance ritual, evoking the cinematic spirit of Jean Rouch and David Lynch. Filmed in 16mm and Super 8 in the village of Taungbyon, central Myanmar, the film immerses viewers in a five-day pilgrimage attended by tens of thousands of devotees. At the heart of the event is the veneration of the nats—37 spirits from the Burmese pantheon, most of whom met violent ends, often at the hands of rulers or other powerful figures. Their tragic deaths render them dangerous, and the Burmese seek to appease them through mediums in elaborate rituals involving offerings, music, and possession. The celebration unfolds as a rare moment of collective freedom in a deeply repressive society—five days of unrestrained spiritual and emotional expression. Listed by critic Nicole Brenez as one of her cinematic discoveries of 2012, Natpwe was selected for several major festivals, including TIFF, NYFF, Festcurtas Belo Horizonte, DOCLISBOA, and IDFA in 2013. It won the Scribe Prize for Cinema and Best Short Documentary at CIDFF 2013.

Tiane Doan na Champassak (1973) is a French visual artist of Asian descent. In the last 10 years, he has developed a complex body of work infusing his own photographic production with techniques of appropriation, variation, décollage and reiteration. By using a large variety of conceptual processes, his practice is based on the recontextualization of readymades, exploring notions such as détournement (diversion) and acheiropoieta (works made without human interaction). His video-based works have been screened worldwide at film festivals and cultural institutions. Winner of the 2012 Scribe Prize for Cinema and Best Short Documentary CIDFF 2013, “Natpwe, the feast of the spirits”, made in collaboration with Jean Dubrel, was included in the official selection of TIFF 2013, NYFF 2013, Festcurtas Belo Horizonte 2013, DOCLISBOA 2013 and IDFA 2013. A strong focus in his work is producing artist’s books, which have lately become part of important private and public collections.