THIS IS WHAT I REMEMBER
Tokyo, 2022
Drama
105'
SYNOPSIS
The film “Esimde - This Is What I Remember” tells the tragic story of the old man Zarlyk, who returns to his hometown in Kyrgystan after spending twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land. He is brought back by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to
consume...
Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, became religious and married the local authority Jaichy. Zaryk’s return unsettles her, but Zatlyk seems to have lost all his memories of his time in the village. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain her lost happiness back when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?
PEOPLE
Director
Writer
Aktan Arym Kubat
Aktan Arym Kubat & Dalmira Tilepbergenova
(Co-) Producers
Financiers
Oy Art, Volya Films (NL), Mandra Films (FR), Kyrgyzfilm, Bitters End
Netherlands Film Fund, Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (VAF), Eurimages, Bulgarian National Film Centre, Armenian National Film Centre, MIBACT, with the support of the Creative Europe Programme – MEDIA of the European Union
FESTIVALS


2022 Tokyo International Film Festival, Competition
2022 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Jury Grand Prize
2022 Eurasia International Film Festival, Best Film Prize
GoEast Film Festival
Shanghai International Film Festival
Aube Film Festival
TRAILER












