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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.

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!