Cinema in Central Asia Rewriting Cultural Histories

by Rouland, Michael; Abikeyeva, Gulnara; Beumers, Birgit

• ISBN13: 9781845119003
• ISBN10: 1845119002
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-11-26
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

Cinema in Central Asia is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of film in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from its origins to the present day. Featuring specialists from Central Asia, Russia, Europe, and the United States, this companion to the cinema of Central Asia combines serious scholarly study with practical accessibility to construct an historical narrative, to discuss aspects of film production, and to consider the impact of film. It offers a deeper understanding of Central Asian culture that is invaluable with the geopolitical and economic emergence of the region.

The book includes a broad history of Central Asian film industry, along with incisive pieces explaining early film institutions and themes, the impact of the Second World War, expressions of identity and protest during the Soviet era, and regional variations of post-Soviet filmmaking. The final section comprises biographic and filmographic entries on the principle figures of Central Asian cinema, providing scholars and filmgoers with a valuable reference.

Author Biography

Michael Rouland is a historian of Russia, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. He has published widely on Central Asian cinema, culture, and national identity and since 2003, he has taught courses on Russian, Central Eurasian, and global history at Georgetown, Miami, and Stanford Universities. He is currently an historian for the U.S. Air Force.

Gulnara Abikeyeva is the Artistic Director of the International Eurasia Film Festival. She is the author of five books about cinematography of Kazakhstan and Central Asia and is a member of the FIPRESCI (International Federation of the Cinema Critics) and NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema). She has been a jury member at the Berlin, Jeonju, Karlovy Vary and Anapa film festivals.

Birgit Beumers is Reader in the Russian Department, Bristol University. Her publications include Burnt by the Sun, Nikita Mikhalkov and Russia on Reels: The Russian Idea in Post-Soviet Cinema (as editor), all from I.B.Tauris. She is Editor of KinoKultura, the online film journal.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration 
List of Illustrations 
Glossary 
Contributor's Details 
Historical Introduction
PART I: AT THE CINEMATIC CRADLE
1. Vostokkino and the Foundation of Central Asian Cinema
2. Birth, Death and Rebirth of a Nation: National Narrative in Uzbek Feature Films 
3. The Various Births of Kazakh Cinema 
PART II: CINEMA IN THE SOVIET REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL ASIA
4. Landscape and Loss: World War II in Central Asian Cinema
5. Fragments from the History of Turkmen Cinema 
6. Bulat Mansurov's The Contest in Context 
7. Tajik Cinema at the End of the Soviet Era 
8. A Small History of Kyrgyz Cinema 
9. Re-Visions of The Sky of Our Childhood 
10. 'A Wild Kazakh Boy': the Cinema of Rashid Nugmanov
PART III: THE ERA OF INDEPENDENCE
11. Cinematic Nation-Building in Kazakhstan 
12. Aesthetic Influences in Young Kazakh Cinema 
13. Growing Up: Children in Central Asian Cinema 
14. Kyrgyz Cinema: An Attempt at Eternal Breakthrough 
15. A View from Moscow: Myths and Realities of the Uzbek Film Boom 
16. Contemporary Tajik Cinema in Context: On Djamshed Usmonov 
PART IV: BIOGRAPHIES
Filmography
Index