Cinema in Central Asia is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the cinema of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from its origins to the present day. Bringing together specialists from Central Asia, Russia, Europe and the United States, this companion to the cinema of the region combines serious scholarly study with practical accessibility to construct an historical narrative, discuss aspects of film production and consider the impact of film. The book also offers a deeper understanding of Central Asian culture that is invaluable with the geopolitical and economic emergence of this exciting region. The book opens with a broad history, paying particular attention to the emergence and expansion of the film industry, competing visions of nationalism and distinct phases of the post-Soviet film experience. A series of incisive articles written by specialists on Central Asian film follows. They explain early film institutions and themes, the impact of the Second World War, expressions of identity and protest during the Soviet era, as well as regional variations of post-Soviet filmmaking and political involvement.
The final section comprises biographical and filmographical entries on the principal figures of Central Asian cinema that offer a much-needed reference for scholars and filmgoers.
List of Illustrations
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
List of Illustrations
Glossary
Contributor’s Details
Historical Introduction Michael Rouland
Part I: At the Cinematic Cradle
1 Vostokkino and the Foundation of Central Asian Cinema Gabrielle Chomentowski
2. Birth, Death and Rebirth of a Nation: National Narrative in Uzbek Feature Films
Cloé Drieu
3. The Various Births of Kazakh Cinema
Bauyrzhan Nogerbek
Part II. Cinema in the Soviet Republics of Central Asia
4. Landscape and Loss: World War II in Central Asian Cinema
Stephen M. Norris
5. Fragments from the History of Turkmen Cinema
Swetlana Slapke
6. Bulat Mansurov’s The Contest in Context
Michael Rouland
7. Tajik Cinema at the End of the Soviet Era
Sadullo Rakhimov
8. A Small History of Kyrgyz Cinema
Joel Chapron
9. Re-Visions of The Sky of Our Childhood
Elena Stishova
10. ‘A Wild Kazakh Boy’: the Cinema of Rashid Nugmanov
Vitaly Chernetsky
Part III. The Era of Independence
11. Cinematic Nation-Building in Kazakhstan
Gulnara Abikeyeva
12. Aesthetic Influences in Young Kazakh Cinema
Eugenie Zvonkine
13. Growing Up: Children in Central Asian Cinema
Birgit Beumers
14. Kyrgyz Cinema: An Attempt at Eternal Breakthrough
Gulbara Tolomushova
15. A View from Moscow: Myths and Realities of the Uzbek Film Boom
Daria Borisova
16. Contemporary Tajik Cinema in Context: On Djamshed Usmonov
Seth Graham
Part IV Reference Section
Film-makers' Biographies
Gulnara Abikeyeva
Appendix: Filmography
Index
The KINO series intends to examine Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet films in their cinematic contexts as well as the context of the political history of Russia, the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet ‘space’ and the world at large. Within that framework the series, drawing its authors from both East and West, aims to cover a wide variety of topics and to employ a broad range of methodological approaches and presentational formats.
The continuing aim of this series is to situate Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet cinema in its proper historical and aesthetic context, both as a major cultural force and as a crucible for experimentation that is of central significance to the development of world cinema culture. Books in the series strive to combine the best of scholarship, past, present and future, with a style of writing that is accessible to a broad readership, whether that readership’s primary interest lies in cinema or in political history.
Advisory Board
Richard Taylor, Swansea (Founding Editor)
Julian Graffy, University College London-SSEES
Jeremy Hicks, Queen Mary University of London
Denise Youngblood, University of Vermont