Director of TENGRI, the first French feature film made in Kyrgyzstan, talks about Tengirism, complex gender relationships, and the Mongolian coat of arm of her grandfather.

Q: Why TENGRI?

A: TENGRI, because this is the divinity of the nomads and close to what I feel concerning the religions in general. I’m not a religious person and think religions do separate people and countries from each other, provoking, most of the time, wars and destruction. The concept of Tengri is very large and carries in itself a concept of emptiness, “sacred” and infinite.

I think each man has in himself sparkles of divinity and should act knowing that he is responsible for what he is doing on Earth. We, human beings, should be acting in full consciousness with total modesty. This is how I understand the title of my film. Tengrism (editor: in Kyrgyz tengirchilik) in Kyrgyzstan is a concept which is well known and it is going through a revival process nowadays.

Q: Why have you made this film?

A: I have always been very interested by all these regions of Central Asia. I had an opportunity to read about Kyrgyzstan, to meet the previous president (Askar Akaev), and I don’t know how it worked in my head but suddenly I started to write and to visit and to re-visit Kyrgyzstan and to spend time there and to listen to people. Then I wrote a script and I worked with the man who helped me to structure the story and well, it was decided really spontaneously.

Q: Is it something that you began writing and the characters started living by themselves?

A: Well, I read a lot of stories about the Aral Sea. I was very much interested and also very shocked by what had happened there. I had a character and I wanted somebody playing something from this region. I also know the live at jailoos – mountain pastures quite well. I know them from Mongolia, and I went to Kyrgyzstan and met people in mountains. I became friends with girls, women and other people. I was in Bishkek, I listened to stories. When I came back I re-wrote my story and it started becoming really real for me. Also I have a lot of things, which are very important for me in life. I am very sensitive to the way the women are treated in the whole world. I was brought up with boys and I always wanted to be like my brothers, to be free, to study, to have same rights. When I started my life, I saw that often it was not the case. I had to fight much more to be respected in my work, there were never the same salaries as for men. These all would make me very angry. There is no one country (where they are in a better situation), may be it is America, but I am not sure either. That was a part of the concept I wanted to put in the film.

Also I travelled a lot and I worked with the Doctors of the World (of Bernard Kouchner from Doctors Without Borders, now the Foreign Minister of France). I was very interested in the economy of countries I was visiting. The most beautiful countries were always the most poor and economically less powerful than Europe or America. So I decided very long time ago that I would spend much time in these places and trying to bring information from these countries to Europe, so that people will become interested in these countries of beautiful human beings and beautiful humanity. In Mongolia, Tibet and Siberia I was very touched by the way we were always warmly accepted. I wanted to talk about this extraordinary hospitality too.

But the film TENGRI is a little bit dark compared to my earlier films from the region. I think this is because the relationship between men and women are more difficult. The jailoo which I am showing in my film is not a very happy place.

Q: For me jailoo has been always an idealistic space, something contrary to the city, very beautiful and human. Women are very patient, diplomatic and loving; men are strong, respectful and responsible.

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Early in June a sorrowful groan was heard from the Kyrgyz blogosphere: the great Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov died. Almost all Kyrgyz bloggers wrote about the death of a famous writer in their blogs.

Erne_raj wrote [ru]:

Chingiz Torekulovich is no more… But he left his scent in minds, hearts and history!

Baisalov told [ru]:

Aitmatov was more than just writer for Kyrgyz nation and Kyrgyzstan. He was the pride and the glory of the Kyrgyz people. He was the face of the nation. We haven’t enough words to describe the place which he took in the heart of every Kyrgyz. Aitmatov was a real artist. He didn’t copy off his heroes and didn’t put real life in his work: he was creating his characters. World knew about Kyrgyz nature, destiny and soul by way of Aitmatov. All Kyrgyz’s will be observed and appreciated through the prism of the Aitmatov’s mythology. We are living and we are condemned to live in the universe of Aitmatov, because the images of Aitmatov, heroes, persons, tragedies became our own life.

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Kyrgyz parliament approved the new edition of orthography on 26th June, and Kyrgyzstan, starting from today, begins to work on new rules of spelling.

The Kyrgyz language’s orthography was changed in 2002 for the last time, when it was decided to write the names of regions in one word – Issykkul, Jalalabad, Karakol.

Specially set up commission, consisting of 12 philologists, worked out the orthography’s new edition within a month, taking into account all pluses and minuses of previous versions.

The new orthography is similar to 1953, when place-names wrote separately – Kochkor-Ata, Kara-Suu, Cholpon-Ata. The national commission for state language is also expected to issue orthographic dictionary, consisting of 80-52 thousand words and word-combinations, in the future an electronic version.

Every fifth resident of Kyrgyzstan wants to change the place of residence, Washington Profile cited survey outcomes held by Gallup sociological service.

Gallup conducted the survey in 82 states worldwide to estimate the actual number of people ready to immigrate abroad. Among the post-Soviet countries, the most active immigrants live in Moldova (34 percent of residents).

28 percent wish to leave Azerbaijan, 26 percent – Georgia, 25 percent – Ukraine, 23 percent- Armenia, 22 percent – Lithuania, 20 percent – Belarus and Estonia, 19 percent – Latvia, 17 percent- Russia, 13 percent- Kazakhstan and 12 percent – Tajikistan. According to the survey, 20 percent of Kyrgyzstanis want to leave Kyrgyzstan.

26 percent of people on average would like to change their places of residence worldwide. Africa sees the major number of potential migrants. 65 percent of the surveyed want to leave Sierra Leone. Residents of Saudi Arabia turned out to be the most satisfied with their country: only one percent of residents have ever thought of leaving their country.

For comparison, 27 percent of potential immigrants reside in Great Britain and Germany, 20 percent – in Israel, 18 percent – in France, 12 percent – in Japan. Gallup opinion poll showed that the young people seeking for better live conditions form the largest pool of immigrants.

Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha told reporters about his working visit to Kyrgyzstan at a press conference at the “Kabar” News Agency

N.Bordyuzha, within the framework of his visit, met with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev and chiefs of the country’s security agencies, telling about the organization’s works and discussing aspects of mutual cooperation.

Answering to questions of journalists, Nikolai Bordyuzha told the air base in Kant will be strengthened. It is expected to reinforce the air base with military planes for solution of issues of terrorism.

In N.Bordyuzha’s opinion, the expansion of NATO – it is a creation of new military infrastructure around the member-states of CSTO.

Besides, N.Bordyuzha told CSTO considers the US military base, which deployed at Manas Airport, as temporary formation and it will be not expanded in the future.

The CSTO Secretary General said Kyrgyzstan is one of the active participant-state of the organization.

CSTO is dynamically developing organization today. It solves issues of migration, drug-trafficking, extreme situations. The organization’s development – it is a high potential for opposing external factors. Members of CSTO: Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Belarus, Armenia.

A meeting of SCO Culture Ministers will be held on June 24-25 and SCO Culture Ministers will discuss the condition and perspectives of cultural exchanges and other issues of mutual interest, news agency Kabar reported.

“One of the important tasks of this meeting is development of multilateral and bilateral cultural relations in frames of the Organization, to assist in strengthening mutual understanding between peoples, maintenance variety of cultures, mutual respect, dissemination of knowledge and customs of peoples, living in the territory of SCO”, Sultan Rayev said.

Minister of culture and information of Kazakhsan Kul-Muhammed Muhtar Abraruly, minister of culture of China U. Tzai, minister of culture and information of Kyrgyzstan S. Rayev, minister of culture and mass communications of Russia Alexander avdeyev, minister of culture of Tajikistan Mirzoshohruh Asrori and deputy minister of culture and sports of Uzbekistan Bahtier Saidullaev will take part in the forum.

The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Sultan Rayev.

Degradation of Academic Degrees in the former Soviet Republics

The situation with granting the graduate degrees of Kandidat nauk/Doctor Nauk has approached a critical moment all over the former Soviet Republics, especcially in Russa, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

While the content and style are still the same as it was during the Soviet Union, the examination commissions have become a gate for producing non adequate graduates with doctoral degrees, who in their turn, are coming to the education system as professors. This is an absolute absurd and nonsense.

There is an urgent need to initiate an alternative accrediting and degree granting system for the former Soviet Union in collaboration with our international colleagues and partner institutions. Therefore, please join to this movement sending your Name, Country, Academic affiliations, and your contacts to askar.bekat@gmail.com, or joing the “PhD in Education” group in www.facebook.com

Thank you,

Askarbek Mambetaliev, Ed.M.
http://cie.netfirms.com geovisit();

The embassies of Germany and France in Bishkek jointly with Kyrgyzstan’s cinematographers’ union will organize a joint film festival between June 23 and 29 in Bishkek, news agency “Kabar” reported.

Residents and guests of the city could watch the latest German and French films and new Kyrgyz short-length film free of charge during the week.

The embassy of Germany informs the festival’s organizers want to draw the attention to long-term close partnership relations between German, French and Kyrgyz cinematographers and their joint products. The culmination point of the festival will be demonstration of Tengri film of joint production of France, Germany and Kyrgyzstan, which shot in 2007 in Kyrgyzstan. The film’s world premiere will take place in June 2008 in Munich, Germany.

George Krol, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs told in Bishkek that he hopes for fruitful and useful meetings with Kyrgyzstan’s leadership, news agency “Kabar” reported.

According to the information of the US Embassy in Bishkek, he refuted rumours of some mass media that he arrived in Kyrgyzstan to discuss expansion of American base in Manas airport.

Mr. Krol also pointed out other inaccuracy in local mass media: during the visit he wasn’t accompanied by either deputy commander of the US Central Command or anybody from the US Central Command.

George Krol, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central Asia and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, payed the visit the Kyrgyz Republic from June 19 to 22. This is his first visit to Central Asia in his capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary.

During his visit, he met with high-level Kyrgyz officials on a range of bilateral issues, including ongoing cooperation and assistance in regional security, promoting rule of law, strengthening the economic partnership between the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan, and promoting good governance. He was also be the keynote speaker at a conference “Doing Business with the U.S.A.”, which showcases opportunities for Kyrgyz companies to do business with U.S. trading partners.

Kyrgyzstan will be represented by 20 sportsmen at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Director of the state agency on physical training and sport, youth affairs and protection of children Alexander Voinov told reporters at a press conference at the “Kabar” News Agency.

Kyrgyz sportsmen had won 11 gold, 17 silver and 22 bronze medals at various international tournaments for the last year.
For the first time prize winners and their coaches, who would win at the Olympic Games, would be honored with award fees.

Official opening of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is scheduled for August 2007. The delegation of Kyrgyzstan will include 41 people.