A Thousand Fires

Husband and wife Htwe Tin e Thein Shwe extract oil from a well near their house. Driven by an engine, cables, and gears, the pumping rig is manually controlled, one of the many wells operated in an unregulated oil field in the Magway region of Myanmar. Life is hard; the only compensation is the hope of a better future for their children; their hopes held by ritual and spirituality. The film portrays a tightly knit family in their daily routine of hard work and quiet togetherness at home and in the community, their efforts to break the cycle of poverty, and the intergenerational conflicts within the family.