5TH EURASIAN FILM FESTIVAL DESCENDS ON LONDON

From the 25th to the 30th May 2023, the Fifth Eurasian Film Festival was held in Romford, London. Films and presentations were made from more than twelve countries, embodying the best of culture and creative talent. The festival ran alongside the Romford Film Festival. President of Romford Film festival, Spencer Hawken, was very complimentary about the quality of the films and the thought provoking subject matter. “The Eurasian Film Festival adds another level to the Romfordfestival and we are happy to host the works and support the Eurasian Creative Guild,” he said.

As part of the festival, the Eurasian Creative Guild held its own meeting where there was a book launch of the famous Kazakh author, Dulat Issabekov’s book of short stories “Confrontation” which has been published by Hertfordshire Press in London. There was also an ex- cellent art exhibition, with portraits by SarvinozHojieva, from Tajikistan. During the meeting there were poetry readings from John Farndon (UK), GenadiyGorovoy (Belarus - Israel), Natalie Wang (Lipatova) (Belarus - Bulgaria) and Tanya Ivanova (Bulgaria - Spain), who also presented her new collections of poetry. One of the highlights of the gathering was a musical performance by Erlan Ryskaly, on the Dombra from Kazakhstan. Erlan is currently in the UK on a musical internship supported by Eurasian Creative Guild.

Natalie Bays from Romford film festival spoke to the audience about her positive experiences of the Guild, “I would never have thought that I would experience Central Asia on my own doorstep. It is great for the people of Romford to have the opportunity to see the films, hear the music and experience the culture. Build- ing bridges between communities is what the Eurasian Creative Guild is about and this is exactly what they are doing here!” she said.

The ECG Film festival 2023 Awards Ceremony was dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of Maria Akhmedjanova - Shevel (Uzbekistan). Maria was an amazing architect and designer who led the conception and creative planning of Jizzakh, a city in Uzbekistan. The ceremony was held on the 30th May and was very well attended. There were welcome speeches by: HE ambassador of Kazakhstan to Great Britain - MagzhanIlyasov. He emphasised the power of film in conveying stories and sharing information but also said that films should be memorable and thought provoking.

Other speeches were made by the new Mayor of the London borough of Havering, Cllr. Stephanie Nunn. This was only her second official duty and she was very interested in the cultural diversity at the festival.

The founder of ECG Film festival, Mark (Marat) Akhmedjanov (Uzbekistan - UK), opened the formal proceedings and in the traditional film festival manner the award winners and recipients of prizes were announced.

Best Eurasian Feature Film

The Crying Steppe (Kazakhstan) | Marina Kunarova Prize was awarded by Kamshat Kumisbay, Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom

Best Eurasian Short film

Khaibulla (Russia - Bashkortostan) | RustemShaikhutdinov

Best Eurasian Documentary Film

Katia and Rimma (France) | Gulya Mirzoeva

Detached (Russia - Chukotka) | Vladimir Krivov

Prizes awarded by a representative from the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United Kingdom

Best Eurasian Screenplay in English

Pirandello’s Wife (USA) | Lynn Elliott

Prize awarded by John Farndon, ECG former chairman

Best Eurasian Screenplay in Russian Home (Kazakhstan) | Zhorabek Musabayev

Prize awarded by Bella Kogan

Best Screenplay based on Kazat Akmatov’s ‘Thirteen Steps of Erika Klaus’

The Valkyrie (Israel) | Darien Shaul Roytman

Prize awarded by Lira Sabyrova – Counsellor of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS:

Honorary Achievement Certificate for Animation

History of the Music Hall (UK) | Tim Wilson

Prize awarded by Timur Akhmedjanov

Best Eurasian Cinematography

The Last Witness (UK - Poland) | Piotr Szkopiak

Prize awarded by Adam Siemieńczyk and Marta Brassart

Best Young Director

Selected (Kazakhstan) | Said Ashirbayev

Prize awarded by Natalie Wang

Audience Choice Award

Awakening of a sleeping beauty (Kazakhstan) | AkbobekTolzhanova

Prize awarded by Stephen M. Bland

Best Romance Screenplay

The Way of the heart(UK) | Aldona Grupas

Honorary Achievement Certificate for Art Direction

A Team of Heaven (Russia) | Vladimir Alenikov

Certificate of Acknowledgement for the Sincerity and Compassion Seen in the Production of War-Related Films

One War (Russia) | Natalya Ivanova

Certificate of Acknowledgement for the Promotion and Celebration of British Cinema and Filmmaking Talent in the UK and Internationally

Luba

Balagova

Certificate of appreciation and Barbara Nawrockamedal by Poezja London for contribution in promotion of Eurasian Culture

Sarvinoz Hojieva (Tajikistan) for her art exhibition

Genadiy Gorovoy (Belarus/Israel) for poetry presentation

Natalie Bays (UK) from Romford film festival

Erlan Ryskaly (Kazakhstan) for musical performance

Natalie Wang (Lipatova) (Belarus - Bulgaria) for jury service

Tania Ivanova (Bulgaria - Spain) for poetry presentation

Certificate of appreciation were also awarded to: John Farndon (UK)

Gareth Stamp (UK - Bulgaria)

Raza Syed (UK - Pakistan)

The event was supported by the presence of representatives from the following Embassies: Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Belarus.

The Eurasian Creative Guild is proud to share the cinematographic culture and expertise of its members from around the world. It is also worth mentioning that films are rarely the work of one person, and what is seen on the screen has so many people behind the camera that make the creations come to life. Such collaboration and dedication need to be admired and continue to be supported. The moving images and stories that create these works are a powerful way of bringing people together through shared experience. Through the Eurasian Film Festival in London and the Burabay Short Film festival in Kazakhstan, the Eurasian Creative Guild continues to build bridges between different cultures.

Events

The City Of Jizzakh Has Become A Symbol For The Prestigious London Film Festival

On May 30th, 2023, at the fifth ECG Film Festival in London there was an award ceremony dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Maria Akhmedjanova - Shevel - an outstanding architect and creative artist of Uzbekistan.

Maria Akhmedjanova - Shevel - was born in May 1943. Mother of five children and grandmother of 15 grandchildren. In 1965, under Sharaf Rashidov’s personal guidance, she worked on the development of the Hungry Steppe and the architectural appearance of Jizzakh, the homeland of the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. She was a holder of a number of state awards: Hero of Labor, Veteran of Labor, Medal of Maternity and many others.

Since 2014, there is a prize named after Maria Shevel, which is awarded annually for the best children’s work within the framework of the oldest international literary competition “Open Eurasia”. Her name has become a symbol of outstanding creative achievements in children’s literature.

“We decided to dedicate the award ceremony to the memory of Maria Akhmedjanova-Shevel, as a tribute to her achievements, her life experience, it is a symbol of the multinational city of Jizzakh, which gave the world talented writers such as - Hamid Alimzhan, Zulfiya as well as many others. It also brought us the most outstanding leaders of Uzbekistan,” - said one of the organisers of the ECG Film Festival, Alexandra Rey.

The Mayor of the London Borough of Havering, Stephanie Nunn, representatives of the embassies of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Tajikistan and Belarus were all guests of honour at the award ceremony.

The festival included screenings of films from around the world: France, Kazakhstan, Russia, Sweden, Poland, Great Britain, and Iran, as well as exhibitions, presentations and performances by artists.

“It is so wonderful that the film festival ended with an award ceremony dedicated to an outstanding woman from Uzbekistan, because it is through such personalities that the world learns about Uzbekistan and its culture,” said Gareth Stump, Chairman of the Eurasian Creative Guild (London).

Since 2019, the ECG Film Festival has attracted many talented and ambitious people who are eager to discover new facets of cinematography, and continues to do so to this day. The festival is organised by the Eurasian Creative Guild (London) in partnership with the Romford Film Festival.

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