2023
Tashkent International Film Festival-XII
The grand opening of the 1997 Tashkent International Film Festival took place at the Peoples' Friendship Palace.
The program of the Film Festival included the following events: press conference, official selection of feature films, visits to metropolitan museums, theaters and concert halls, sightseeing in Tashkent, laying flowers at the monument to Alisher Navoi by the participants and guests of the Film Festival, retrospective screening of films directed by Nabi Ganiev and Khudaibergen Devanov.
The official selection included the following films: Buyuk Amir Temur (Uzbekistan), Everything was covered with snow (Uzbekistan), History of the Dragon City (China), Abai (Kazakhstan), Shadows of the Past (Georgia), Broken Heart (Yandym, Turkmenistan), Actor (Iran), Sardori Begim (India), White Silk (Malaysia), Farewell, My Darling (South Korea), Gungat (Pakistan), Someone else's time (Azerbaijan), Fadeless carnations (Turkey), Love in Russian Style -2 (Russia).
In order to expand film exchange between the countries, the Uzbekkino National Agency organized a film market within the framework of the Festival, which film studios, producers, exporters, distributors, owners of cinemas and film companies took part in.
A retrospective of films by Nabi Ganiev, one of the founders of Uzbek cinema, whose works were included in the golden fund of Uzbek cinematography, was opened at the Kazakhstan cinema. The retrospective began with the demonstration of the film Takhir and Zukhra.
The same cinema hosted a retrospective of films by Khudaibergen Devanov, the first Uzbek cinematographer. The screening included archival footage shot by him at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as a documentary film about his life and work.
It is worth mentioning that the Festival also comprised the exhibition Artists of Cinema and Theater of Uzbekistan, which demonstrated the panorama of works by masters of different generations, including both works of artists whose names are now associated with the history of the formation and development of Uzbek cinema art and sketches of young artists for theatrical performances. Varsham Yeremyan, Nariman Rakhimbaev, Emonuel Kalantarov, Georgiy Brim, Sadriddin Ziyamukhamedov, Zebo Nasyrova, Bobur Ismailov, Ruslan Kamaletdinov are the names of the artists who appear in the films' credits and on theater posters.
At the end of the Festival, metropolitan Chilanzar restaurant hosted an after party on behalf of the khokimiyat (city administration) in honor of the guests and participants of the Festival. The official buffet was held in a very lively and warm atmosphere. The performances of Yalla, Navo ensembles, the Academy of Culture orchestra with its artistic director Ismail Jalilov and other artists enriched the event.
The culmination of the evening was a dance, which the heads of 15 national film companies of the former republics of the Soviet Union who earlier had signed an agreement on joint cooperation were invited to. Therefore, their dance looked utmost symbolic. Next to the Uzbek and Russian representatives, the guests from the Baltic States and Transcaucasia, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan stood in a circle.
It's noteworthy that the Film Festival annually had prominent people of culture and arts, public and political figures, journalists, famous directors and actors as its distinguished guests.