Cinema in Central Asia

Cinema in Central Asia is the first comprehensive and up-to-date account of the cinema of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from its origins to the present day. Bringing together specialists from Central Asia, Russia, Europe and the United States, this companion to the cinema of the region combines serious scholarly study with practical accessibility to construct an historical narrative, discuss aspects of film production and consider the impact of film. The book also offers a deeper understanding of Central Asian culture that is invaluable with the geopolitical and economic emergence of this exciting region. The book opens with a broad history, paying particular attention to the emergence and expansion of the film industry, competing visions of nationalism and distinct phases of the post-Soviet film experience. A series of incisive articles written by specialists on Central Asian film follows. They explain early film institutions and themes, the impact of the Second World War, expressions of identity and protest during the Soviet era, as well as regional variations of post-Soviet filmmaking and political involvement.
The final section comprises biographical and filmographical entries on the principal figures of Central Asian cinema that offer a much-needed reference for scholars and filmgoers.

MICHAEL ROULAND is an historian of Russia, Central Asia and Afghanistan. He has published widely on Central Asian cinema, culture and national identity. 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 US Air Force. GULNARA ABIKEYEVA is a Kazakh film critic and researcher, and the author of several books on the cinema of Kazakhstan and Central Asia. She is a member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) and NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), and has been a jury member on a range of international film festivals. BIRGIT BEUMERS is Professor in Film Studies at Aberystwyth University, Wales. She has published widely on Russian and Soviet cinema and theatre, and is on the Advisory Board of the KINO series at I.B.Tauris. She is editor of KinoKultura and of the journal Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema.

List of Illustrations
Contributors
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
List of Illustrations
Glossary
Contributor's Details
Historical Introduction Michael Rouland
Part I: At the Cinematic Cradle
1 Vostokkino and the Foundation of Central Asian Cinema Gabrielle Chomentowski
2. Birth, Death and Rebirth of a Nation: National Narrative in Uzbek Feature Films
Cloé Drieu
3. The Various Births of Kazakh Cinema
Bauyrzhan Nogerbek
Part II. Cinema in the Soviet Republics of Central Asia
4. Landscape and Loss: World War II in Central Asian Cinema
Stephen M. Norris
5. Fragments from the History of Turkmen Cinema
Swetlana Slapke
6. Bulat Mansurov's The Contest in Context
Michael Rouland
7. Tajik Cinema at the End of the Soviet Era
Sadullo Rakhimov
8. A Small History of Kyrgyz Cinema
Joel Chapron
9. Re-Visions of The Sky of Our Childhood
Elena Stishova
10. 'A Wild Kazakh Boy': the Cinema of Rashid Nugmanov
Vitaly Chernetsky
Part III. The Era of Independence
11. Cinematic Nation-Building in Kazakhstan
Gulnara Abikeyeva
12. Aesthetic Influences in Young Kazakh Cinema
Eugenie Zvonkine
13. Growing Up: Children in Central Asian Cinema
Birgit Beumers
14. Kyrgyz Cinema: An Attempt at Eternal Breakthrough
Gulbara Tolomushova
15. A View from Moscow: Myths and Realities of the Uzbek Film Boom
Daria Borisova
16. Contemporary Tajik Cinema in Context: On Djamshed Usmonov
Seth Graham
Part IV Reference Section
Film-makers' Biographies
Gulnara Abikeyeva
Appendix: Filmography
Index