Football-obsessed Yangon fish seller makes entire staff wear Chelsea shirts

Football fans are known for their die-hard loyalty to their teams, but it’s hard to beat the dedication of Yangon-based fish seller U Myint Lwin.

The forty-something boss asks his dock workers to don the blue uniform of Chelsea FC as if they were his private squad.

The manager’s own, yellow, shirt is emblazed with the words: ‘The Special One’. 
 
“Everyone needs to find some joy in life,” he says. “For me that joy is watching football.”

That’s the premise of a delightful short documentary by award-winning filmmaker Lamin Oo set to be screened at the Waziya Cinema as part of the Wathann Film Fest tomorrow.

Lamin Oo, whose land-grabbing film, This Land is Our Land, was praised by US President Barack Obama during his visit to Myanmar last year, came across the story earlier this year.

“One of my friends who is a photojournalist stumbled upon this guy while he was doing a story at the fish market,” he told Coconuts Yangon.

“He knew I liked football and Chelsea. He said, ‘You have to see this guy, it’s really interesting.”

Lamin Oo and his production company, Tagu Films, ended up shooting the seven-minute film, titled The Special One, in a single day.

It follows the gregarious U Myint Lwin as he supervises his team of workers who salt and package the fish arriving on ships. All while dressed in the uniform. They alternate between home and away shirts.

U Myint Lwin watches on, pen and notebook in hand.

“I try to be like Mourinho when he’s managing a game,” says U Myint Lwin. “He’s always focused and he knows what he’s doing,” he says.

The employees can support any team they like – as long as it’s not Man United.

“I like quirky stories,” said Lamin Oo. “It’s hard to make light-hearted, funny Myanmar documentaries because of all the political and human rights issues.”

He has another one of those films coming out soon – about land grabbing – but it won’t be out until after the elections.

In the meantime, stop by the Waziya Cinema tomorrow. The Special One is scheduled to be screened between 1pm and 4pm. The festival runs through September 12. See the full schedule here.


Photos/ Courtesy of Tagu Films

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