Why did you choose to focus on political prisoners?
I have been following Burma for many years and in particular the issue of Burma’s political prisoners for the past five years. As a documentary photographer or filmmaker, you have an opportunity to inform and educate people about situations and events in ways different from mainstream media. In Burma’s case, the world has had to rely on state propaganda with extremely limited international coverage for many years, so to be able to work in a society with these limitations challenges you to find new ways to tell any one of the powerful stories that need to be told about Burma. Political prisoners is one of those stories that I wanted to try to tell, but there are many more.

How did you find all these people?
I was extremely privileged to receive the support and guidance of the former political prisoners themselves, both those in exile and those still inside Burma. And without their belief in the work I would never have undertaken it in the first place. These are their stories and their struggles to bring freedom to their friends and their country. The courage they have shown in the face of such inhumanity is a shining example to us all.

Tell us about your previous series Even Though I’m Free, I Am Not.
Abhaya—Burma’s Fearlessness is the name of the book and the exhibition but the work is still the same work. All I hope for is that people have learned more about the issue of political prisoners in Burma and will decide to help bring about their freedom in whatever way they can. That’s all that matters, nothing else. It’s why we have carried out this work.

How will the release of Aung San Suu Kyi affect politics in the country?
Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi was something that the military regime had to do. They could not keep her under arrest any longer, and it certainly was not an act of reform. Her release is important on many levels, as she is perhaps the one person who has the ability to bring a sense of unity to the country, if she is given the opportunity. Whether or not she will really be given the opportunity is another matter. So far Burma has seen talk of reform but very little substantive action. More than 1,800 political prisoners remain behind bars. Only if there is real change and real reform in the country can Aung San Suu Kyi or others bring democracy and a new dawn to Burma.

After this exhibition, what’s next?
The book, featuring a foreword by Aung San Suu Kyi, is being published and from November 30 the work is being exhibited by the Open Society Institute in New York as part of the Moving Walls program for the next 18 months. As for my colleagues and I, we will keep working on a number of projects inside Burma.