Cinemas of the Other

Gonul Donmez-Colin

Description

An updated collection of recent interviews with filmmakers whose works represent trends in the film industry of Central Asia, this new geospecific edition expands upon the earlier volume Cinemas of the Other: A Personal Journey with Film-Makers from the Middle East and Central Asia.Following an introduction delineating the histories of the film industries of the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the books contain interviews stretching over a decade, which position the filmmakers and their creative concerns within the social or political context of their respective countries. The striking variety of approaches toward each interview creates a rich diversity of tone and opens the door to a better understanding of images of “otherness” in film. In addition to transcripts of the interviews, each chapter also includes stills from important films discussed, biographical information about the filmmakers, and filmographies of their works.Dönmez-Colin offers in this expanded edition a carefully researched and richly detailed firsthand account of the developments and trends in these regional film industries that is sure to be appreciated by film scholars and researchers of Central Asia.

Sujets

• Energie & environnement
• Engineering
• Technology
• Sciences et techniques
• Power Resources

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781841507668
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Cinemas of the Other: A Personal Journey with Film-makers from Central Asia
2nd Edition
Cinemas of the Other: A Personal Journey with Film-makers from Central Asia
2nd Edition
by G n l D nmez-Colin

Intellect Bristol, UK / Chicago, USA
First published in the UK in 2012 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2012 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright 2012 G n l D nmez-Colin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
Production manager: Jelena Stanovnik
Cover designer: Holly Rose
Copy-editor: MPS Technologies
Typesetting: John Teehan
ISBN 978-1-84150-549-7
EISBN 978-1-84150-766-8
Printed and bound by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, UK
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Kazakhstan
Ardak Amirkulov and Ermek Shinarbaev
A New Beginning
Being Young in Almaty
Serik Aprimov
The Last Stop is Aksuat
The Need for Hunters
Rachid Nugmanov
The Wild East, Rockers, Bikers and a New Life
Kyrgyzstan
Chingiz Aitmatov
The Equivocal Marriage of Literature and Cinema
Aktan Arymkubat (Abdikalikov)
The Most Successful Kyrgyz Film-maker
Let There Be Light
Ernest Abdizhaparov
Minimalist World
Gennadi Bazarov
A Culture to Share with the Young
Tolomush Okeev
Searching for Lost Identity
Tajikistan
Tachir Mukharovich Sabirov
More than a Generation Gap
Turkmenistan
Halmammet Kakabaev
Human Values in a World in Transition
Uzbekistan
Kamara Kamalova
The Grande Dame Of Central Asian Cinema
Zulfikar Mussakov
Humour in the Absence of Hope and Laughter
Yusuf Razikov
The Unfair Battle of the Sexes
Film Credits
Selected Bibliography
for Maya, In s and Phyllis
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to all film-makers who participated in this project, which would not have been possible without the generous contribution of their time and sincere and open sharing of their work, ideas, feelings and dreams. Special thanks are due to film festivals that focus on the lesser-known cinemas of the world, making it possible to view films that are not otherwise available, particularly, festival des 3 continents - Nantes , Cottbus Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, Istanbul International Film Festival and Vesoul International Festival of Asian Cinemas.
INTRODUCTION
C inemas of the Other: A Personal Journey with Film-Makers from the Middle East and Central Asia is a collection of interviews with film-makers, whose works are representative of the cinemas of their respective countries. Cinema worldwide is dominated by the Hollywood film industry, which imposes its culture, values and cinematic gaze although its contribution is no more than a fraction of the annual production. National and regional cinemas/industries that cannot fight such an economically powerful giant have either withdrawn backstage or have begun to adopt the box-office success formula of the adversary. The other in the title has a dual meaning: (1) the non-western nations of the Islamic Middle East and Central Asia that are commonly perceived from a Eurocentric point of view as a distinctly separate entity - remote, alien, mysterious, exotic, barbaric, savage and even threatening and dangerous and (2) the cinemas of these nations, which are committed to voice social and political issues of their peoples, and/or oppose, both in style and content, dominant mainstream cinemas, inside and outside the country.
To examine the cinemas of all countries that could be defined as the other in this sense is beyond the scope of this book or my expertise. I have chosen Iran and Turkey from the Middle East, the two non-Arab Muslim countries in the region, which were never colonized and the Muslim Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan that share several common traits - history, customs, traditions, languages and religious affiliation - with Iran and Turkey. For the second edition in paperback, we have decided to divide the two parts of the book into two separate volumes to make room for new additions and to provide easier access to readers with different interests. Hence, Volume One focuses on Iran and Turkey, whereas Volume Two concentrates on the Muslim Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union. Naturally, the list of distinguished film-makers from these regions is not confined to those included here. Several other film-makers have already taken their deserved place in some of my other books.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Central Asian cinema drew attention of the film world when a new vitality was observed, particularly, in Kazakhstan. Its capital at the time, Alma Ata (presently called Almaty), was already the largest film centre of the USSR after Moscow, Leningrad (St Petersburg of today) and Kiev. Kazakhfilm Studio s origins go back to the 1930s. The first documentary was shot in 1925 and released in 1929 under the historical title Pribytie Pervovo Poezda v Alma Atu/The Arrival of the First Train in Alma Ata . Victor Turin s Turksib/Stalnoi Put/The Steel Road , about the building of the Turkish-Siberian railway, was also released the same year. Five years later, a documentary film studio was founded where newsreels, under the title Soviet Kazakhstan , documentaries and a few feature films were made. During the war, Mosfilm and Lenfilm were evacuated to Alma Ata, and Sergei Eisenstein shot two parts of Ivan Grozyj/Ivan, the Terrible there between 1943 and 1945. For the Kazakhs, national cinema began in 1954 with the first Kazakh fiction film, Shaken Aimanov s A Love Poem .
Central Asian cinema was already developed in the 1940s, but under the constraints of the Communist regime, it did not have much chance to flourish. From the time cinema was nationalized in 1919 by a Lenin decree, film production and distribution had been regulated by a government institution, the State Committee for Cinematography (Goskino), which gradually gained control, only to be dismantled with the arrival of perestroika , which opened new horizons for young film-makers who were mostly trained in VGIK (the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography) in Moscow and shared the same concerns and difficulties despite the diversity of their backgrounds.
Kazakhstan was perhaps the only Central Asian state, which was not seriously affected by the social, economic and ethnic turmoil that has swept the former republics after the fall of the Soviet Union. Under the liberal policies of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the country moved to a free market economy smoothly, and banks and co-operatives took the opportunity to publicize through high-profile investments such as cinema. However, when investments did not show profit, the private sector withdrew and some investors were interrogated for laundering black money; film production has since fallen considerably.
When I met Rachid Nugmanov, one of the most prominent voices of the post-Soviet Kazakh new wave , in the summer of 1991 at the Kazakhfilm Studio, he told me the new movement was post-perestroika . It is about young generations everywhere, be they Kazakh, Russian, or any other - about new relationships and a new vitality. No restrictions . No restrictions; not even commercial! Kazakh films could never make it to the commercial circuit. So, why worry?
Nugmanov s unreleased diploma film, Ya-Ha (1986), quickly became an underground cult classic. His first feature, Igla / The Needle (1988), starring a rock idol, sold 20 million tickets at the box office, but Meist / Revenge / The Red Flute (1990), by Ermek Shinarbaev, was shelved until invited to an independently promoted Festival of Unwanted Films. Turned down for foreign export by Moscow film officials the previous year, the film won the Grand Prix of that festival, which opened its door to Cannes and other prestigious festivals.
Serik Aprimov plunged into the socially and politically committed film genre right from the start. Konechnaya Ostanovka/Qijan/The Last Stop (1989), a pessimistic portrait of daily rural life, was praised by the critics but condemned by the villagers of Aksuat (the birthplace of the film-maker and the focus of the story) for exposing the naked truth on screen.
The golden period of the Kazakh cinema, which flourished with perestroika , gradually lost its momentum after the fall of the Soviet Empire and the transition to market economy. Private studios that had mushroomed following Independence have been obliged to re-evaluate their projects according to the dictates of the capitalist system. Film-makers and producers began to think of the western markets while choosing scripts. Established names, even those who have received prizes at international film festivals, are unable to finance their projects unless backed by foreign financing. Some, such as Rachid Nugmanov, have settled in western countries. Darejan Omirbaev, or Serik Aprimov who had won the confidence of the West, are perhaps in a position to find foreign co-producers, but neither has made a film for a long time. The idea of a cinema with no restrictions, which Nugmanov had once advocated, is in the past.
Omirbaev s Jol/The Road , the only Kazakh film made in 2001 (produced with funds from France), sums up the situation of Kazakh cinema. Amir, a film-maker estranged from his roots, is obliged to return to his natal village to be on the side of his dying mother. While he is driving, the camera focuses on his troubled face, devoid of energy. Tradition is on the way out, but what is there