Stories of Self-Determination: Three Films from Central Asia lands at The Cinematheque, May 16 & 24
Without Fear, Early Cranes, and The Touch offer perspectives on preserving cultural identity amid hardship
SPONSORED POST BY The Cinematheque
Without Fear
May 16 & 24 only, The Cinematheque is shining a spotlight on a trio of rarely screened work with its series Stories of Self-Determination: Three Films from Central Asia.
“The Soviet Union is your father and mother,” proclaims a Bolshevik officer to console an orphaned teen in 1972’s Without Fear, one of the films featured in this program. The full measure of this falsehood is plain: although Central Asian nations were neither orphaned nor childlike, the Soviet Union imposed new identities on them, forbidding ways of the past.
These films highlight how an individual can cope with such an overbearing presence through either resistance or acceptance. One can settle for the benefits of the latter—promises of comfort and a better life—or attempt to preserve a sense of self. The Cinematheque’s program of three Soviet-era titles from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan was organized around such queries, showing what it means to carve one’s own path amid outside interference.
Early Cranes
Onscreen, these stories trace historical hardships during monumental periods of Soviet life—from women caught between ideologies in early Soviet rule, as represented in Without Fear; to a teenager navigating the realities of war, such is seen in 1980’s Early Cranes; to a disenchanted couple searching for a place to call home as the regime collapses, as shown in 1989’s The Touch.
For the artists behind the camera, these films are attempts to preserve Central Asian cultural identity by artfully sifting it through the filters of censorship. Narrative devices, visual techniques, and Aesopian language all serve to obfuscate the unsanctioned.
The Touch
For Vancouver audiences, watching these seldom-screened works is an opportunity to witness individuals chart the ever-changing waves of social and political power. This program is a testament to the pursuit of self-determination that shapes present-day lives.
Stories of Self-Determination is programmed by Dastan Ryskulov of Tolkun Films, a project bringing Central Asian cinema to international audiences. Appreciation goes to T. Okeev National Film Studio “Kyrgyzfilm”, Shaken Aimanov National Film Studio Kazakhfilm, and Cinematography Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan for loaning the works for this program.
View screening times and purchase tickets through The Cinematheque.
Post sponsored by The Cinematheque.
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