This film looks to shed light on the rigor behind journalism and why it's all worth it. It’s a piece of work about pursuing the truth wherever it may lead and bringing that truth back in word form for the world to read. The film looks at Southeast Asia Bureau Chief Hannah Beech as she tries to uncover the truth surrounding rumors of genocide in Myanmar. Over and over, she encounters an uncooperative government, belligerent armed guards and signs of a massacre that had been hastily covered up—using journalistic instinct, empathy and resolve to get the truth no matter what. The spot was released at a time of heightened discussions about the subject matter, making it even more critical to reiterate the importance of the truth and the value of NYT journalism.

This was a story that launched at a time when the issue of government transparency was more crucial than ever. The script had to bring the emotion of this heavy story while balancing the journalistic integrity of The New York Times. The script puts us in the reporter's stream of consciousness, adopting her tone of voice while also maintaining The Times’s inimitable house style. The script itself, a connected thread of words that appears on screen, creating the effect of a continuously rewriting headline, was central to putting the viewer in the psyches of the journalist as she uncovers the truth about the genocide of the Rohingya people of Myanmar.

Myanmar, Southeast Asia

Myanmar Government Deny Ethnic Cleansing

Myanmar Government Denies Ethnic Cleansing

Myanmar

Apply for Myanmar

Apply for Myanmar Press Visa

Apply for Access

Apply for Access, Rakhine Region

Apply for Access

Access

Access Denied

Access

Access Denied

Access

Access Denied

Access Granted

Visa Granted

Visa: Obey Armed Guard

Visa:

Visa: Photography Restricted

Visa:

Visa: Follow Orders

Follow Government

Follow Government Tour

Government Tour Avoids

Government Tour Avoids Key Sites

Government Tour Avoids

Government Tour Avoids Destroyed Mosques

Government Tour Avoids

Government Tour Avoids Burned Villages

Government Tour Avoids

Driver Avoids Questions

Driver Avoids

Driver Repeats

Driver Repeats Government Story

Repeats Government Story

Government Story

Government

Government Camp

Get Into Government Camp

Rohingya Camp

Rohingya Held in Camp

Rohingya Held

Try to Rohingya

Talk to Rohingya

to

Asked to Leave

to

to Move

to Move On

to

to Continue

to Continue Tour

to Continue Past

to Continue Past Evidence

to

Ask Driver to

Ask Driver to Stop

Driver Ignores

Fake Illness. Driver

Fake Illness. Driver Stops.

Driver Stops

Driver

Slip Driver

Slip

Slip Into Village

Villagers

Talk to Villagers

Villagers Repeat

Villagers Repeat Government Story

Villagers Repeat

Villagers Repeat Government Story

Villagers Repeat Government Story

Villagers Repeat Government Story

Village

Village Kids

Find Village Kids

Kids

Kids Talk

Kids Contradict

Kids Contradict Government Story

Kids

Kids Unfiltered

Kids Tell Truth

Tell of

Tell of Burnt Houses

Tell of

Tell of Disappearance

Tell of

Tell of Murder

of

of Arson

of

of Rape

of Missing Friends

of Missing Friends

A Missing People

A Muslim Minority Erased

Accounts

Accounts Reveal a Government Lie

Reveal

Reveal Official Story False

Myanmar Official Line: Rohingya are Returning But

Cracks in That Story Abound.

Myanmar Official Line: Rohingya Are Returning But

Cracks in That Story Abound.

By Hannah Beech

Aug. 2, 2018