About the project
So many people, so many stories. This is the story of a little girl in a small country with a huge issue. The main character, an 8-year-old girl Umut, lives with her grandmother in a mountain city of Kyrgyzstan. Little Umut carries a big longing in her little heart. Her mother is a migrant, she left in search of a better job. Her doll is always lying next to Umut. Just a doll for others, but for her it’s the whole world. However, no one understands this

About the author
Saule Mukanbetova was born in Kyrgyzstan on May 20, 1999. In 2017, she graduated from high school, and in the same year she entered the Kyrgyz-Turkish University “Manas” at the Faculty of Communications, the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema and graduated from the university in 2022.
She took part in the filming of films as an assistant director, as well as as a cameraman. The film “Umut” is her debut work, which was filmed as a graduation project.

About the project
A documentary about a resident of a remote village in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan. The main character is the captain of the national team of the nomad game “kok boru". He watches the broadcasts of these national games daily with his family before selling his own racehorse to buy a bus ticket and go to the city in search of a high-paying job.

About the authors
Both Dastan Borkoshev and Danysh Akylbekov are part of “Expedition” — a community of young Kyrgyz cinematographers, who discover new stories from all over the country and share them in short documentary form.
Dastan Borkoshev is a film director, an artist and a graphic designer, a founder of “Zerger” creative agency. He studied at the film school of Marat Sarulu and participated in Ilya Tomashevich's workshop on the art of cinema.
Danysh Akylbekov is a screenwriter and director, who also took part in Ilya Tomashevich’s workshop and had an immigrant experience, while studying and working in Moscow for 6 years, where he shot his first short film.

About the project
The film opens the door to a local young group of friends, who grew up in a big city, were influenced by Western pop culture and spoke Russian all their lives. It reveals the topic of self-identification and honesty between our inner and outer selves.
This short experimental film delves into the profound theme of growth in a post-soviet country and life with its heritage in a foreign language, brought up to us for the first time. Through the lives of these 9 young people, we explore the intricate relationship between their spoken Russian and our native ethnic language — Kyrgyz. As the characters make their personal journey, the film becomes a reflection of the complexities and interrelationships between cultural heritage and changes in society.

About the authors
Aiturgan and Alina dazzlingly debuted with “Zamandash”, heralding their emergence as a directorial duo. United by profound friendship and a shared vision for a new era in Kyrgyz independent cinema, they collaborate seamlessly while thriving individually. While nurturing the aspiration to create as a pair, their artistic personas diverge significantly. Driven by their joint creative ambition, Aiturgan and Alina exude distinct artistic identities. Alina's fervor lies in documentary filmmaking, unraveling the tapestry of human life across diverse cultures. She captures life's sanctity through unique narratives, discovering beauty in urban landscapes and the untouched tranquility of nature. In contrast, Aiturgan's artistry gives birth to fresh worlds and characters, conceived from an abundant imagination, intertwining her personal experiences and herself to craft a captivating juncture where reality and fiction coalesce in mesmerizing complexity.