Uzbeks love cinema, particularly the Indian cinema. No, it is not just The Tramp (Awara) that is part of Indo-Soviet folklore. Any Soviet - in fact that was one of the tests of 'Sovietness!' - could burst into the Raj Kapoor/Mukesh song 'Awaara hoon' (‘I am a Vagabond’). But what amazed me in Uzbekistan was the repeated reference to Confluence (Sangam) and 'Dost dost na raha,' (My Friend is a Friend No More’), surely a new chapter in the Raj Kapoor saga, and a crucial sub-section of all serious discussions on Indo-Soviet relations. Be it any remote corner of Uzbekistan, even snowy mountainous areas, one can have an intelligent conversation on Indian cinema!
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Featured Articles
How does one describe Kamara Kamalova? The 'Grande Dame' of Central Asian cinema? And yet, she is as fresh and energetic as a young girl. She smiles with her eyes, a warm smile full of life and hope. Perhaps that is the secret behind her special bond with the youth. The pains and joys of being young come alive in her films - from All Around was Covered by Snow (1995), about the emotions and insecurities of a young girl to The Savage (1988), which speaks of the injustices of the Soviet system through the story of young lovers. Her most recent film, The Road Under the Skies (2006) also has that special element which addresses young people directly, hence its immense success with young audiences from India to Uzbekistan. An exceptional feat for a filmmaker who is in her late 60s.
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When I was young, I saw a lot of films in my city, Xian. I was first interested in arts, literature, modern opera. At the age of 19,1 sawPoem of the Sea by Aleksandr Dovzhenko for the first time but I didn't really understand it. So I sold my new shoes to buy two tickets, and saw it twice more at the Peace Cinema. It was winter and I was barefoot (back home, my mother asked me where my shoes were!). Actually I saw it fourteen times to be able to understand it, and by the end I knew the dialogues by heart! Two years ago, I visited a studio named after Dovzhenfco. I was destiny!
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International Women's Day
We are pleased to bring to you, for the second year, our International Women’s Day screening!
Free online screening | 8th March
IWD theme this year is #ChooseToChallenge. A challenged world is an alert world. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge - Ubolsyn herself completely embraces the theme!
This year we invite you to a special free online screening of ULBOLSYN from director Adilkhan Yerzhanov. Our sincere thanks to the producers, Guillaume de Seille and Olga Khlasheva, for their generosity and their efforts in facilitating the screening.
The film tells the story of a girl named Ulbolsyn (Kazakh for ‘let there be a son’) whose little sister Azhar is kidnapped by the regional mayor’s brother Urgen for marital purposes and taken away to his village. Ulbolsyn wants her sister to be free and to enter her into a foreign university so that she can pursue a future career. As soon as she learns about the incident, Ulbolsyn decides to fight for her sister and face down the patriarchal world of the people living in the Karatas village.
The film is the recipient of the NETPAC Award in Tallinn Black Nights and TRT award in CineLink Sarajevo WIP 2020