Born in Myanmar in 1982, Midi Z arrived in Taiwan at the age of sixteen. He studied design and art before obtaining a master degree from the National Taiwan University of Technology and Science. In 2006, his graduation film, Paloma Blanca, was invited to several festivals such as Busan and Gothenburg. From 2011 to 2014, Midi made three features, including Return to Burma, Poor Folk and Ice Poison; all were shot in less than ten days with a budget lower than ten thousand US dollars. In 2011, Return to Burma was nominated for the Busan New Currents Competition and Rotterdam Tiger Competition. In 2014, Ice Poison won Best International Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Director at the Love and Peace Film Festival in Sweden, Best Director and Press Awa d at the Ta ipei Film Festival and was nominated for Best Director at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards. Moreover, it represented Taiwan at Foreign Language Oscars in the following year. In 2015, his script of The Road to Mandalay won the biggest prize at L’Atelier at the Cannes and the Prix ARTE International. Midi has proven himself to be a prolific director, working in Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand and China.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
