2023, Kazakhstan, 65' ֍ Dir. Almira Saifullina
Arabic/Russian/Uzbek (Turkish/English subtitles)
Set in the ancient town of Bukhara in Uzbekistan, Almira Saifullina’s documentary lead audiences away from the touristed streets and into the life of a young souvenir seller, Behzod. Raised in the highly patriarchal Muslim society of Bukhara, we meet Behzod and his family at the moment when he is about to surrender his carefree youth and take on the mantle of adulthood in obedience to local rules. Together with his bride, Behzod goes through a traditional wedding ceremony and deeply rooted initiation rites to become head of a new family. But are the young people truly happy with their chosen path?
Independent filmmaker, artist and researcher Almira Saifullina was born in Kiev, Ukraine and grew up in Kazakhstan among the ethnic minority diaspora community of Tatars. After receiving a degree in economics from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Almira went on to study film directing at the Moscow School of New Cinema. Her work investigates the relationship between the individual and society through the lenses of power, gender, memory and citizenship. Almira takes a decolonial and feminist approach to her research, which focuses mainly on the sociocultural landscape of Central Asia. Mulberry, which was shot in Uzbekistan, was produced by Almira’s recently established Kazakhstan-based film studio Utro Films and is her second feature-length documentary.
