Myanmar: Beauty queen turned resistance fighter stars in new film

Htar Htet Htet, a former Miss Grand International beauty queen and actress, has transitioned from a national figure to a resistance fighter following the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. After Min Aung Hlaing and the military seized power and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Htar Htet Htet joined anti-coup protests in Yangon before eventually moving to border jungles to join resistance fighters.

She recently starred in a new film titled ‘Ray’, which she describes as a ‘95 per cent’ accurate portrayal of her experiences. The film aims to maintain international attention on Myanmar’s descent into civil war and the hardships faced by its citizens. Reflecting on the shift from her stable life as a businesswoman and coach to her current reality, she noted that her previous life feels like a ‘different lifetime’.