DUSHANBE—The bi-annual International Film Festival Didor, now in its fifth year, will take place in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan from October 16 to 20.
More than 40 feature fiction, documentary, animated and short films from countries including Tajikistan, Iran, Russia, the United States, Afghanistan, Switzerland, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan will be screened.
Highlights of this October’s festival will include Steppe Man from Shamil Aliev Yaver oglu of Azerbaijan and Stone of Patience from Atiq Rahimi from Afghanistan. The festival will also host the first Central Asian retrospective of six recently restored films from Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation.
“I’m extremely proud to know that the International Film Festival Didor continues to exist and to thrive,” commented Scorsese, and “I’m heartened that they will be showing films restored by The World Cinema Foundation.”
Other special programs at this year’s festival include highlights from the Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival and the Verzio Human Rights Documentary Film Festival from Hungary.
After ten years, the International Film Festival Didor continues to grow and deepen its influence throughout the country and region, attracting thousands of cinema enthusiasts annually to Dushanbe. From its early days, the festival has put its own, unique Tajik stamp on proceedings. Visitors to the festival can, for example, expect to find themselves on a green not red carpet. With a range of debates happening alongside screenings on issues such as the future of Tajik cinema, and with participation from international cinema experts and analysts, fans of cinema and Central Asia enthusiasts can look forward to a thought-provoking programme of events.
“Visitors to the International Film Festival Didor should expect to be challenged, provoked, outraged, bemused and entertained”, said the festival’s executive director, Safar Khakdodov, “most importantly visitors should expect to get involved. You come to Didor to be challenged and inspired,” concluded Khakdodov.
The Fifth International Film Festival Didor will take place at Dom Kino of the Cinematographers Union of Tajikistan, Ayni street, 131, Dushanbe and entrance is free.
The International Film Festival Didor is organized with the support of the Committee of Television and Radio of the Government of Republic of Tajikistan, Film Studio Tajikfilm, Open Society Arts and Culture Program, The Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, and the Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation in Tajikistan (OSI/AF-Tajikistan).