This short film programme presents six films by contemporary female film-makers from Central Asian countries. Keshigip Soqqan Zhel (The Late Wind) depicts the existential and emotional balancing act of a woman in present-day Kazakhstan, who finds out about her pregnancy after the end of a relationship, in a very undramatic but all the more haunting way. Burul and Ertak (Fairy Tale) tackle the difficult subject of selfhood in the traditional social order of rural Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The directors venture a confident outlook, in which the love and tolerance of adults support the emancipatory will of youth. The protagonist of the documentary film Orzui Anora (Dream of Anora) is 39-year-old Anora, who remains unmarried because of a blemish. In her desire to have a child, she comes up against the limits of the religious dogmas that have given her strength and balance throughout her life. Tovarishj Polizeiski (Comrade Policeman) exposes the bumpy systemic change in Kazakh society, in which Soviet and democratic structures take on bizarre formations. The experimental Circle of Endless Life establishes a poetic link between the cycle of human life and its visual documentation.  

Programme:

Keshigip Soqqan Zhel (The Late Wind)
D: Shugyla Serzhan, Kazakhstan 2023, 23', Kazakh with English subtitles

Burul
D: Adilet Karzhoev, Kyrgyzstan 2023, 14', Kyrgyz with English subtitles

Ertak (Fairy Tale)
D: Kamila Rustambekova, Uzbekistan 2022, 12', Uzbek with English subtitles

Orzui Anora (Dream of Anora)
D: Lolisanam Ulugova, Tajikistan 2022, 11’, Tajik, Russian with English subtitles

Tovarishj Polizeiski (Comrade Policeman)
D: Assel Aushakimova, Kazakhstan 2021, 13', Russian with English subtitles

Circle of Endless Life
D: Rusudan Mirobzalova, Uzbekistan 2024,  5', no dialogues