XVI Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan: Winners

Dates of the festival: 14-18.11.2022

Place of the festival: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Jury:

Ksenya Shymanska, Ukraine

Andreas Roksen, Sweden

Gulbara Tolomushova, Kyrgyzstan

Urantsooj Gombosuren, Mongolia

Elina Steinerte, Great Britain

Grand-Prix: "This Rain Will Never Stop"

“This rain will never stop”, 103 min., 2020, directed by Alina Gorlova, UKRAINE

"Twenty-year-old Andriy Suleyman left one war zone to find himself in the middle of another. As a teenager, he escaped Syria with his family, taking refuge in his mother’s native Ukraine. His family is displaced across borders – a brother in Germany, an uncle in Iraq – and, now, he volunteers with the Red Cross. But Andriy’s dreams of a quiet life seem out of reach in a world where the tremors of conflict are as common as rain.

Shot in striking black-and-white by award-winning DOP Vyacheslav Tsvetkov, which magnifies the themes of grief, loss and disconnection, director Alina Gorlova’s latest film is a work of both notable beauty and inventive form that confronts the far-reaching destruction caused by every bullet and bomb. Intercutting narrative passages with sometimes elliptical but nonetheless affecting images, This Rain Will Never Stop is a sophisticated vision of war zones, both universal and intimate, and the scars they leave on humans caught in the crossfire.

“Absorbing … A brave and uncompromisingly artistic attempt to outline the contours of a much larger, perhaps species-wide soul sickness: the psychological and philosophical displacement that war churns up in its wake.” – Variety"

Best International Film: "Intensive Life Unit"

Intensive Life Unit, 72 мин, 2021, реж. Adela Komrzy, Check Republic

Doctors Ondřej and Kateřina often touch on the intangible in their work.
In this feature-length documentary, the pioneers of Czech hospital palliative care discuss topics that have essentially disappeared from our lives. Against an environment of robotic medicine and deified white coats, focusing on the disease itself, the human being returns to the centre of their attention. In an intimate conversations, doctors and their patients look for answers to a question that has, unfortunately, been forgotten in hospitals where life ends for 60 to 70% of Czech society: “How does one live a quality life with an illness?”
Over a period of three years, director Adéla Komrzý has documented the Department of Palliative Care at the General University Hospital on Charles Square in Prague. This originated as a pilot project to serve as an example for other hospitals. A team of experts help patients find solutions and make decisions that may be of benefit to them in an era that offers endless possibilities for life to be extended artificially. Because life is not just a beating heart and expanding lungs…

Best National Film: "Alaman"

Alaman, 15 min, directed by Ilgiz-Sherniyaz, Soronbek Turgunmamatov, KYRGYZSTAN

The ancient nomads have a game called Alaman. It is very similar to the game "Kok-boru" - "goat-shoveling", and it is the same ancient, equestrian-sporting game. The aim of the game "Alaman" is to seize the carcass by taking it away from the crowd of opponents and throw it in front of the "master", i.e. the organizers of the game. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of riders compete for the prize. Usually, the game is arranged to receive a blessing before important events.

Best Gender Equality Film: "Girls, Space, Equality"

Girls, space, equality,13 min., 2022, Director Chistyakov E., Producer  Ayzada Bekbalaeva, KYRGYZSTAN

Kyzzhibek Batyrkanova is a director in the satellite engineering program. This is the first program that is preparing to launch a nano-satellite from Kyrgyzstan, and her team is all girls. By engaging other young girls in this project, Kyzzhybek wants to broadcast the idea of feminism.

Previously, Kyzjibek was in an abusive relationship that involved harassment and threats of forced marriage. It's still hard for her to talk about it, but wants to talk about it so that she can use her own example to spread feminism and confront abusive relationships. Her friends and the nanosatellite space program helped her through a difficult time.

Best Film Highlighting The Social, Economic and Cultural Righrs: "Black Wagon"

Black Wagon, 24 min., 2021, directed by Adilet Karzhoyev, KYRGYZSTAN 

Best Film Highlighting  The Civil and Political Rights: "The Place Called Wahala"

"A Place Called Wahala", 55 min., 2021., Jürgen Ellinghaus, FRANCE, GERMANY 

Best Film Highliting The Climate Change: "#BishkekSmog"

#BishkekSmog, 27 min, Directed by. Iskender Aliev, Bermet Borubaeva, Andrey Tkach

#BishkekSmog is a reflection of the state and processes in the region, when poverty and corruption turn into an ecological disaster.
What are the causes of smog? The eternal dispute — who pollutes the air more? CHPs, cars, new buildings, development — these are specific polluters, but while government agencies shift responsibility to each other, people breathe hazardous air, putting themselves and their children at risk. Air and water pollution caused by rapid growth and unregulated mining also threaten public health.
But a new generation of young civic activists say it’s time to clean up the city and fight for a better future. Iskender Aliyev and Bermet Borubaeva have joined forces to create a documentary-research film about Bishkek’s smog.
The film shows smog as a complex issue. It looks at it from different angles, meeting and talking with experts, doctors, activists, and city residents.

Special Bir Duino Prize Ulan Ulansyn: "Struggle"

Struggle , 12 min,  by Azamat Ubraimov, KYRGYZSTAN

Dastan, who lost his eyesight in his youth due to a fall, is now 21 years old. He now works as a journalist and is a second-year student at Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University. Dastan is also actively involved in professional triathlon and is a winner.

Special Jury Prize: "Heavenly Horse"