The Maw Naing was born in Myin Gyan, Myanmar in 1971. He graduated in Burmese literature and technology. He studied cinema at the Yangon Film School then at FAMU in Prague. He is a poet, artist and director at the same time. In 2008, he directed Again and Again, a short documentary, then, in 2012, Nargis: When Time Stopped Breathing, which won awards at several festivals. The Monk is his first feature-length fiction film. Her next film The Women is in post-production.
