Melis Abzalov

Under the Guise of "Black Cat"

Tashkent, 1942. At this time, the hospitable city became a refuge for tens of thousands of people tired of hunger and cold war years. In urban stores, warehouses and markets in abundance of food and other goods. All this attracts the attention of criminals of different stripes, who in search of easy money gathered in Tashkent from all over the vast country. There are several criminal groups here. At the beginning of summer in the city there is a new gang operating with special impudence and cruelty…

A Monster or Someone Else...

Forty-year-old opera chorister Pulat Mukhamedzhanov, stuck in the elevator of a multi-storey building, remembers his family and friends, the best and worst qualities that he inherited from them and, of course, hopes for salvation...

I Remember You

A dying woman’s wish sends her son on a train journey from the steppes of Uzbekistan to the Russian hinterland in search of his father’s grave. Just as the traveler’s home city of Samarkand is situated on the border between East and West, Khamraev balances his film on the edge of two cultures, evoking the soul of Russia and the crumbling beauty of what was once the Silk Road.

Birds of Our Hopes

Amir, 30 years old cinema reporter, lives a great (and probably) happy life between his job and a private life with many friends and Lia, devoted girlfriend and mother of a boy, Timur. One day at the last minute, Lia can't join the group of friends who has planned a trip to the beach. There, Amir meets someone, whom he believes to know already.

That Was in Kokand

About the formation of Soviet power in Uzbekistan, the fight against the “Kokand Autonomy” and the Basmachi.

The Seventh Genie

In some kingdom was inhabited by seven Genie. Six are evil and one is good. Good Genie, despite the machinations of evil, helped the potter Nabi cheat khan to give water to irrigate the land of the poor.

Man Follows Birds

Man Follows Birds is a coming-of-age story of a young Uzbek poet surrounded by violence. Farouk is fascinated by trees and Khamraev films him with a lot of melancholy and tenderness. Cast apart because he’s poor and his father’s drunk, Farouk is not happy in his village. When his father dies, he decides to go in the mountains with his best friends. Looking for nature at its purest, the two teenage boys have to deal with the cruelty of violent barbarians. Their trip will also make them meet a lost orphan girl and a wise beggar.

The Seventh Bullet

Despite the restoration of Soviet power in the area, Basmachis continue to arrive from across the border, bringing death and destruction to peaceful villages. One of the bands of rebels is led by Khairulla who is pitted against the militsiya (local militia) leader Maxumov. At first it seems hopeless for Maxumov as the rebels capture most of his men, winning them over to his side. He has only one strategy left; to give himself up, and try to explain to the people that Khairulla has deceived them, turning the soldiers back to revolution. Later in pursuit of his enemy, he chases Khairulla across a river. He has only one bullet left -- the seventh, and he must not miss his target!

Fan

Movie almanac of two short stories: "Fan", "Spoiled holiday".

White, White Storks

Set in the rural village of White Storks, the story tackles the taboo subject of an extramarital affair. Strong-willed Malika, married but childless, is openly consorting with another man with whom she shares a seemingly tender bond.