Please join us for this special screening followed by a discussion with
MAUREEN AUNG-THWIN
Director of The Burma Project at the Open Society Institute
6:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Registration and Cash Bar
Screening begins promptly at 7:00 p.m.
The Tribeca Grand Hotel
2 Avenue of the Americas (between White and Walker Streets)
New York, NY
SPECIAL ADMISSION
UNA Members: $10
UNA Student Members: FREE
Guests and Non-Members: $15
Latecomers
Latecomers can send a request to info@unanyc.org and will have their names added to the standby wait list. UNA-NYC will notify standby applicants if and as space becomes available.
Current reservation holders
Since the screening is now sold out, we will hold your seat until 6:45 p.m. the day of the event. If you are not at the theater by this time, we will give your seat away to those who are on the wait list, or show up at the theater. If you know that you are unable to attend, please let us know well in advance so that we may give your seat to someone else who would like to see the film. Thank you!
THE LADY tells the extraordinary story of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and her British husband Michael Aris.
It is a tale of the peaceful quest of "The Lady," a name bestowed upon her by the Burmese people who see the heroine as a beacon of grace and courage.
THE LADY is an epic love story about how an extraordinary couple and family sacrifice their happiness at great human cost for a higher cause. Despite distance, long separations, and a dangerously hostile regime, their love endures until the very end. A story of devotion and human understanding set against a background of political turmoil which continues today, it is also about the peaceful quest of the woman who is at the core of Burma's democracy movement.
Directed by renowned filmmaker Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita and The Professional), THE LADY was written over a period of three years by Rebecca Frayn. Interviews with key figures in Aung San Suu Kyi's entourage enabled her to reconstruct for the first time the true story of Burma's national heroine.
The glowing center of the film is an unforgettable and powerful performance by Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha) in the title role. When she originally received the script, she was deeply moved and inspired by Suu Kyi's story, and knew right away that it would be the role of a lifetime. She immediately brought the script to Besson's attention. In preparing for the role, Yeoh spent months studying Burmese and went through many hours of videos of Suu Kyi in order to thoroughly emulate her. Eventually the actress also obtained a visa to visit Burma and met with the Lady herself. She was deeply impressed by Suu Kyi's warmth and generosity.
"No matter how petite she looks, she exudes amazing strength. More than anything else, I felt like I already knew her, like she was an old friend because I'd been watching her so intently and she was exactly what I figured she would be," Yeoh explained in the film's official production notes.
Guest Speaker
MAUREEN AUNG-THWIN
Maureen Aung-Thwin is director of the Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative at the Open Society Foundations, established by financier and philanthropist George Soros. Aung-Thwin, who was born in Burma, attended Northwestern University in Illinois and New York University. She is on the Asia Advisory Board of Human Rights Watch and a trustee of the Burma Studies Foundation which oversees the Center for Burma Studies at Northern Illinois University. She has also worked as a freelance journalist based in Asia and as program staff of the Asia Society in New York City.
THE LADY poster design: Shepard Fairey
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Only UNA-NYC Members have guaranteed admission to all our film events, and attend for free or pay the discounted Members' admission. Our events are well-attended, so we strongly encourage membership with UNA-NYC to guarantee your seats!
UNA-NYC is grateful for the generosity of the Tribeca Grand Hotel, for allowing our organization the consistent booking of their state of the art screening room for our Film Talk series.
Nearest subway stations to access the Tribeca Grand Hotel area:
Canal Street station: A, E, C trains
Franklin Street station: No. 1 train
Also close, but requires a little walk:
Canal Street Station station: N, Q, R, W trains
View the Tribeca Grand Hotel neighborhood map and more directions