East of the West - Competition 2003 / O´rtok Boykenjayev / Uzbekistan 2002
The story of stalwart comrade Boykenzhayev who, at the request of the Party, sets about constructing an international cemetery. The gala grand opening, however, requires the presence of a dead Uzbek to bury. In order not to violate regulations, disciplined comrade Boykenzhayev…dies.
Somewhere in Uzbekistan during the Soviet era. No sooner does Russian bigwig Pyotr Andreyevich express his wish that an international cemetery be founded where Uzbeks, Russians, Jews and Koreans may lie side by side, than he is laid low by a stroke. Local functionaries entrust the realization of his parting notion to stalwart comrade Boykenzhayev, who proved his worth in school performances playing the part of Lenin. He calls in technicians, the army and the youth organization to prepare the site in the shape of a five-point star. The locals merely shake their heads. When the work is finally completed, they set a date for the grand opening. According to the regulations, the first “dearly departed” is to be an Uzbek. But the morgue only holds a man named Afanasi – and, anyway, a Korean shaman brings him back to life. The family of a dead Uzbek deny his existence and give him a secret Muslim burial. In order not to disappoint the Party leadership, Boykenzhayev dresses in black and, to the strains of Lenin’s beloved Appassionata, lies down and dies. Now the grand funeral can take place – complete with death masses and saluting youth pioneers.
78 min / Color, 35 mm
World premiere
Director Yusup Razykov
/ Screenplay Jusup Razykov / Yusup Razykov, Abdukhalik Abdurazzakov, podle románu Abdukhalika Abdurazzakova / based on the novel by Abdukhalik Abdurazzakov
/ Dir. of Photography Chotam Fajzijev / Khotam Fayziyev
/ Music Džamšid Izamov / Djamshid Izamov
/ Editor Olga Morovová / Olga Morova
/ Production Uzbekkino Company
/ Cast Farchad Abdulajev / Farkhad Abdullayev, Matluba Alimovová / Matluba Alimova, Sejdula Maldachanov / Seydulla Maldakhanov
/ Contact National Cinema Agency Uzbekkino
Yusup Razykov (b. 1947) graduated in screenwriting from Moscow’s VGIK film school (1986). He writes and currently works in Tashkent managing Uzbekfilm studios. His feature debut, Orator (Voiz, 1999), a film pillorying the careerism, hypocrisy and fervour of a naive revolutionary, won the Russian Film Critics’ Prize. In 2000 he shot Women’s Paradise (Zhenskoye czarstvo), focusing on polygamy and the conflict between traditional and modern positions on this current issue. Comrade Boykenzhayev (O’rtoq Boykenjayev, 2002), inspired by a stage play, uses black comedy to evoke Uzbekistan’s Soviet past.
National Cinema Agency Uzbekkino
98, Uzbekistansky prospect, 700027, Tashkent
Uzbekistan
Phone: +998 71 144 9691
Fax: +998 71 140 0398
E-mail: [email protected]
Yusup Razykov
Film Director
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