The documentary chronicles stories of two Kyrgyzstan families whose sons perished serving in a war against Ukraine. Their grief warps the world to the point where nothing makes sense – manual activities have their own logic that might offer a salve when nothing else will. But every this action seems to help parents forget that the death of their sons in someone else’s war was in vain.
A young entrepreneur, Meder, decides to put his family plans on hold in search of career growth. Accidentally traveling to the future, he suddenly realizes that his 20-year-old son, who was abandoned in the womb, is anxiously searching for his father. To improve his life, he needs to make friends with his unsuspecting son and at the same time learn to be a father, a friend, and a person, but is Meder ready for such a turn of events?
The last year at school is not only about exams but also about the first truly adult trials. Friendship is tested for strength, first love faces a cruel reality, and talent is not the only key to success. The heroes of this story are on the threshold of the future, where you have to fight for your dreams, and mistakes can change everything. Will they be able to find their way before the school bell rings for the last time?
In a remote Kyrgyz village, 35-year-old Adil, who has the mind of an 8-year-old, lives with his elderly mother, Rayhan. She has always told him he is specially loved by God and destined for Paradise. But Adil refuses to go without her. Upon hearing from his young friend that a pilgrimage to Mecca on foot could secure his mother a place in Paradise too, Adil decides to embark on this journey. Paradise at Mothers' Feet explores a mother's love, human kindness across cultures, and the shared spirit that transcends hardship.
The story begins with Maksat falling in love with Aisuluu at first sight. He soon learns that Aisuluu has a "fiancé" - Tilek, the son of her parents' friends. They disapprove of Maksat, considering Tilek the best match for their daughter. Maksat tries to impress by hiring actors to create the illusion of his family, but the plan fails.
On the shore of Issyk-Kul, a young family begins a new life, restoring an old cafe. But their dream turns into a nightmare when dark secrets of the past come to life within the walls of the establishment. Mysterious phenomena and inexplicable fear turn every night into a fight for survival. The place of dreams becomes a place from which it is impossible to escape. The legend of the very “Girl in the Red Dress” begins to come to life.
Centaur lives a modest life with his family in rural Kyrgyzstan until he abruptly becomes the center of attention when he is caught stealing a racehorse at night. A story inspired by the myth when horses became the wings of men.
At the Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border, Aza and Samat work as members of a drug trafficking organization. One day, they run into Nazik, who has narrowly escaped from human traffickers.
A young Kyrgyz woman is kidnapped and forced to marry. A drama about the desire for freedom in the clutches of a tradition.
Anticipation of Love has settled in the heart of a young lady. The boundaries between dream and passion are very elusive. Life is full of physical deprivations and, of course, sensual pleasures, and the deep meaning of that all is Love. The deeper the feeling, the more intense the emotions. Each girl dreams about meeting her love one day. An experienced man helps her discover the world of passion and senses, and brings her to ‘heaven’s gate’ where the two of them will prevail. One can only imagine how many hearts were broken along the way to master the science of love. But passion blinds and soon the man becomes slave to the young woman’s sensual body. The carnal knowledge makes the girl try to subdue her love object. This is what the last film by Kim Ki-duk, shot in summer 2019 in Kyrgyzstan, is all about. The film was finished by Kim’s friends and colleagues after he unexpectedly passed away in December 2020.
A boy raises a wolf cub, but when released into the wild, it returns to attack him.
The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.
In a remote Kyrgyz village, Beshkempir, an infant foundling, is taken in by five older women and later adopted by a couple unable to bear children of their own. Fast forward to his early teenage years, a pubescent Beshkempir is faced with all the problems of crushing on girls and courtship, reconciling with friends and dealing with death in the family. Above all he questions his place in the world as an adoptee.
A family of nomads lives in the remote high mountains of Kyrgyzstan...
Esen, a young man who has been expelled from his village, escapes with the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the village. Whilst being pursued, he is forced to fight for her hand in a battle that results in the destruction of a sacred totem tree. This puts the whole village in jeopardy, and it is up to Esen to redeem himself and save them all.
Egemen, who makes a living by stealing scrap metal, has a secret lover, Meyerim. She was kidnapped, married, and then divorced with her daughter, so Egemen is unable to proudly introduce Meyerim to his family.
After his long-lost son is suddenly thrust back into his life, a charismatic con artist takes to the road with his two wives, swindling everyone they encounter along their path.
Each September, Bolot Tagaev and his family practice a centuries old tradition, harvesting walnuts in one of the oldest walnut forests in Kyrgyzstan. Over the course of a single season, director Zaheed Mawani gracefully captures delicate sequences such as a child interacting with a snake, or sacks of walnuts being laid gently across an attic bed. Stories attached to the forest are told and retold over the fire at night, adding a mythic dimension.
