The art of survival in modern day Burma 86 and 57 mins, 35mm, Burmese with English subtitles Decades of isolation and corruption under the iron-fisted rule of dictator General Ne Win have caused Burma (now known as Myanmar) to plummet from being one of Asia’s richest countries to one of the world’s poorest nations. But beneath the continued oppression and misgovernment in Burma lies the vibrant world of the cult of the nat. Nats are somewhere between gods and spirits who suffered untimely deaths as victims of the injustice of Burmese kings of yore. At the mercy of an arbitrary junta themselves, it’s not hard for the Burmese to identify with these supernatural figures and so, in spite of the fact that more than eighty percent of the Burmese population is Buddhist, belief in this ancient cult is still widespread. At the centre of this world are spirit mediums – often homosexuals – known as nat kadaw. Shot on film without a permit in Burma’s capital, Yangon, "Friends in High Places" takes us on a journey into the nat cult and into the lives of several mediums. Guided by two lively Burmese women narrators in their early seventies, we enter an unknown world of moving stories, extravagant costume, ecstatic music and flamboyant dance where we discover the unique role the spirit mediums play in Burmese society, as social worker and even psychiatrist to people from all walks of life. As the military government celebrate their power in endless televised parades and the first monsoon rain clouds break over Yangon, we learn how the supernatural is inextricably bound up with the daily lives of the Burmese. Private consultations between mediums and clients tell us about the problems, hopes and fears of ordinary Burmese people and, at the same time, provide us with an insight into the personality of a people strangely caught between totalitarianism and capitalism. At lively theatrical rites to propitiate the nats known as nat pwe, we observe Burmese of all ages involved in a celebration of life that defies the gloomy reality of their daily struggle for survival and provides an entirely new perspective on the Burmese character. A richly idiosyncratic yet authentic human study of life in Burma today.