Tashkent Film Festival pushes the boundaries: the film forum will be held in Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand

A major event awaits the cultural life of the capital - the Tashkent International Film Festival "Pearl of the Silk Road", revived on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The event will be held in Tashkent, Bukhara and Samarkand from September 29 to October 2. 

The audience is waiting for the cinema weeks of friendly countries, creative meetings, master classes, premieres, round tables. Promising projects have been announced. 
The Tashkent International Film Festival, formerly known as the International Film Festival of Asia, Africa and Latin America, was held annually from 1968 to 1997. Traditionally, the guests of the event were famous directors, actors and cinematographers. It was then that Tashkent secured the title of the regional center of the film industry, and today the capital regains this status.
Many topical issues related to the training of young specialists - screenwriters and directors, deepening their knowledge and professional development, and at the same time increasing films that meet the taste and requirements of a wide audience have been raised and resolved.
Thanks to the Presidential decree "On the revival and holding of the Tashkent International Film Festival" dated June 19, 2021, the legendary big screen festival "Pearl of the Silk Road" returned decades later. The document defines: the event will be held annually in order to preserve and develop the age-old traditions of national cinema, strengthen the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between countries through this direction, expand the scale of creative cooperation and cultural ties at the international level. 
This time the film festival will be held for the 15th time (and for the third time after a long pause).
Who's coming?
The details of the upcoming event are already known. The weekly program promises to be large-scale. The preliminary list of invited guests is replete with the names of the stars of the first echelon. 
For example, one of the most anticipated participants was the world-famous Serbian director and actor, winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Lion, the Silver Bear and the Cesar Award Emir Kusturica. His iconic works "Dad on a business Trip", "Arizona Dream", "Black Cat, White Cat", "Life as a Miracle", "Maradona" have already become classics and, as critics write, have changed the film industry as such. 
It is expected that the master, who is also a talented musician, will not only walk the red carpet, but also perform a concert at the closing ceremony of the "Pearl of the Silk Road". 
The capital is also waiting for the winner of the Golden Globe Award, the director of such sensational films as "The Opium War", "Earth and Ashes", Siddiq Barmak. In addition to participating in official events and walking the red carpet, the expert joined the jury of the young cinematographers competition.
For the first time, a delegation of cinematographers from China will visit the Tashkent International Film Festival. It will include the General Director of the Chinese Digital Film Screenings Film Company, producer Yang Hongtao, Deputy Director of the Department of the China Film Distribution Corporation Li Yue and the head of the international department of the China Cinema Corporation Liu Fang. During the event, two films produced by China will be presented: the high-budget fantasy thriller "Wandering Earth - 2" and the drama "Thread of Life". It is worth noting that last year Chinese films were also shown as part of the film festival and attracted a lot of attention from both experts and compatriots who attended the screenings.
With the support of the Greek Cultural Center, a Greek delegation will also arrive in Tashkent in the person of the Secretary General of the Messinian Amphictyony Panagiotis Bazigos, producer Dionisis Samiotis, writer and screenwriter Petros Kasimatis. 
And Polish director, producer and screenwriter Krzysztof Zanussi will take part in the Tashkent International Film Festival for the second year in a row. The winner of the main prize of the Venice Film Festival "Golden Lion" and many international and national awards, the creator of the films "Scars", "Protective Colors" and "Illumination" will act as the chairman of the jury of the Central Asian Film Competition. Zanussi will hold a round table with students and creative youth. There are also plans for an open creative meeting for everyone.
What will we see?
The cinema festival cannot pass without breathtaking films, high-profile premieres and interesting collaborations. The intrigue persists: the full poster has not yet been announced, but the information published at the moment about the upcoming shows is more than promising. So, the audience expects a wide range of genres and topics: from bright science fiction to deep psychological dramas. 
Thus, within the framework of the film festival, a new film by Alexander Sokurov, winner of a number of international film awards (including the Berlin, Cannes and Venice Film Festivals), "Fairy Tale", will be shown. It is planned that the creator of the paintings "Reading the Book of Blockade", "Faust", "The Sun", "The Russian Ark" and "Circle Two" will take part in an open creative meeting together with film critic Vasily Stepanov. 
Screenings of foreign films will be organized. One of them is "Zorbas" by Babis Tsokas (Greece). The plot is based on real events and tells about the life and hardships of an ordinary miner from Macedonia. According to the organizers, "Maryam" by Indian screenwriter and director Arvind Pratap will not leave the audience indifferent either. The movie tells the story of a family who moves to Mumbai in search of a better life. The "Sand Particles" of Israeli cinematographers Gitit and Yahel Kabiri were also forced to talk about themselves. The work is dedicated to the life of a teenager David - a talented artist with a difficult fate. He lives in the south of Israel with his sick mother, a father who has lost his dreams, and a younger brother. 
This year, the organizers did not limit themselves to individual screenings. Within the framework of the XV Tashkent International Film Festival, a film festival of the European Union countries will be held in Tashkent and Bukhara for the first time. The opening ceremony of the festival is scheduled for September 30, and screenings will take place on October 1-3 (Tashkent) and October 3-5 (Bukhara).
Important points of the program promise to be "Kinokaravan" in the regions of Uzbekistan (showing films in the most remote corners of the republic through specially equipped buses) and the opening of a modern cinema "Khudoybergan Devonov" in the Khorezm region. 
Another significant event is the series of events "115 years of Uzbek cinema" related to the history of national cinema. Thus, the opening ceremonies of photo exhibitions dedicated to the masters of Uzbek cinema - Khudoibergan Devonov and Nabi Ganiev, and the opening day "65 years of memory of Malik Kayumov" will be held. Co-production projects "Jami and Navoi" (Uzbekistan - Tajikistan), "Ulug Amir and Donna Maria" (Uzbekistan - Turkey - Hungary) and others will be presented in the pavilions of the Uzbekfilm cinema concern. 
What will we compete in?
The XV Film Festival will be remembered for quite new formats for Uzbekistan, as well as unprecedented opportunities. For example, it is expected to hold a "pitching" (presentation of a film project in order to find investors) under the title "Talents of Central Asia". 
The initiative is organized for young screenwriters and directors. Candidates will present their projects to an international jury, and experts will choose the best of the best - those who will receive support and the opportunity to work under the strict guidance of eminent mentors. The pitching will take place in several stages, the final stages of the competition will allow some of the young talents to take part in a master class on co-production, which will be held during the Cannes Film Festival.
Another high-profile event of the Pearl of the Silk Road Film Festival is the annual competition of young cinematographers "Cinema in five Days". In just 120 hours, 14 young cinematographers from seven universities of the CIS countries (Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Moldova, Russia) will shoot full-fledged films in different locations of the republic. 
Thanks to this annual competition, which was launched in 2021, new talents are being discovered, and along the way our country demonstrates in all its glory its historical cities, nature and attractions. Already on September 24, the participants went to their locations, where they will shoot pictures on the theme "Uzbekistan is my dream!". So, this time the filming locations were the Ak-Sarai Palace in Shakhrisabz, the Gur-Emir Mausoleum in Samarkand, the Ark fortress and the Sitorai Mokhi-khosa Palace in Bukhara, the Akhsikent settlement in Namangan, the Hazrati Imam ensemble in Tashkent, as well as the silk-weaving factory in Margilan. 
According to the rules, a film crew of seven young Uzbek specialists will be attached to each team of two people. In total, the guys have three days for the filming process, one day each for editing and voice acting. The works of the contestants will be appreciated by the masters of world cinema. Ali Khamrayev, one of the most famous and beloved Uzbek directors, will act as the chairman of the jury. The jury also included the aforementioned A. Sokurov, S. Barmak, our compatriot film director Shukhrat Mahmudov and Turkmen director Khojakuli Narliev. 
The organizers call the main goal of "Cinema in five days" to attract young filmmakers to create a new cinema and introduce foreign colleagues to the traditions and culture of Uzbekistan.