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Cinema350Myanmar has had a modest film industry since the early 20th centuryand it continues today producing low-budget, uncontroversial actionpics, romances and comedies that are a staple of cinemas, village videoscreeninghalls and DVD sellers across the country. There’s even anannual Academy Awards ceremony that is one of the country’s biggestsocial events.You’ll need to look to film-makers outside Myanmar for movies anddocumentaries that tackle some of the country’s more controversial topics.Among recent documentaries available on video or doing the festivalrounds are Nic Dunlop’s Burma Soldier (www.breakthrufilms.org/burma-soldier/), the moving story of a military recruit, who loses two limbsto land mines and switches sides to become a democracy activist; RexBloomstein’s This Prison Where I Live (http://thisprisonwhereilive.co.ARTS & ARCHITECTUREMYANMAR’S SPORTING LIFEMartial arts are perhaps the longest-running sports that the people of Myanmar havepatronised: the oldest written references to kickboxing in the country are found in thechronicles of warfare between Burma and Thailand during the 15th and 16th centuries.The British introduced football (soccer) in the 19th century and it remains Myanmar’smost popular spectator sport.FootballThe 11-team Myanmar National League (http://myanmarnationalleague.com) waslaunched in 2009. A US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks revealed that SeniorGeneral Than Shwe had thought it would be politically more popular to instruct cronybusinesses to create this league rather than spend US$1 billion on buying ManchesterUnited, as his grandson had advised. Local TV broadcasts European games and teashopsare invariably packed when a big match is screened.Martial ArtsMyanma let-hwei (Myanmar kickboxing) is very similar in style to muay thai (Thai kickboxing),although not nearly as well developed as a national sport.The most common and traditional kickboxing venues are temporary rings set up ina dirt circle (usually at paya pwe rather than sports arenas). All fighters are bare-fisted.All surfaces of the body are considered fair targets and any part of the body except thehead may be used to strike an opponent. Common blows include high kicks to the neck,elbow thrusts to the face and head, knee hooks to the ribs and low crescent kicks to thecalf. Punching is considered the weakest of all blows and kicking merely a way to softenup one's opponent; knee and elbow strikes are decisive in most matches.Before the match begins, each boxer performs a dancelike ritual in the ring to payhomage to Buddha and to Khun Cho and Khun Tha, the nat whose domain includesMyanmar kickboxing. The winner repeats the ritual at the end of the match.ChinlonOften called 'cane ball' in Burmese English, chinlon are games in which a woven rattan ballabout 5in in diameter is kicked around. It also refers to the ball itself. Informally, any numberof players can form a circle and keep the chinlon airborne by kicking it soccer-stylefrom player to player; a lack of scoring makes it a favourite pastime with locals of all ages.In formal play six players stand in a circle of 22ft circumference. Each player mustkeep the ball aloft using a succession of 30 techniques and six surfaces on the foot andleg, allotting five minutes for each part. Each successful kick scores a point, while pointsare subtracted for using the wrong body part or dropping the ball.A popular variation – and the one used in intramural or international competitions –is played with a volleyball net, using all the same rules as in volleyball except that onlythe feet and head are permitted to touch the ball.