The Emerald Jungle (Mya Ga Naing) is a silent black and white film produced by A1 Film Production in 1934 in Myanmar. It is the most ancient Myanmar feature film still in existence. The elements nominated are two dupe negative prints and one positive print (all from a 1970 version of the 1934 film), which have been owned and stored at the National Film Archive Vault at Myanmar Motion Picture Development Department.
Mya Ba Naing was directed by one of the fathers of Myanmar Cinema. Considering the glorious past of Myanmar Cinema and its critical situation of conservation today, this film is a national treasure, and an emblematic film for the Myanmar history of cinema in the colonial period. As with other silent films, requiring only a change of title to be enjoyed outside the country, it was easily circulated in the region and beyond, as testified by the presence of a print copy found in the Arsenal Institute in Berlin, which was utilised for comparison during the recent restoration.
The efforts to locate, restore, digitise and provide long-term storage and accessibility via public screenings deserve to be recognised, especially as it has been encouraged through MoW and MOWCAP workshops and campaigns.