The 180 Degree production company posted a video about the trying life of the Tajik countryside. This is the first film in photos that tells about the economic problems of the inhabitants of Alitchour, which have become almost impossible to solve following the coronavirus pandemic.
Novastan takes up and translates here an article published on October 19, 2020 by the independent Tajik media Asia-Plus.
In Tajikistan, the coronavirus pandemic has largely affected the inhabitants of the countryside. While the latter were already facing significant problems before the Covid-19, such as heating or having electricity, the situation worsened. This was notably the case at Alitchour, a small village located in the Haut-badakhchan, in eastern Tajikistan. To evoke it, the production company 180 degree made a film in photos, named after the village.
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Makhpora Kiromova, author and producer of the film Alitchour, discussed this new project and other upcoming films with Asia-Plus. “The idea of making a film in photos came to me recently, about six months ago. It is a fairly complicated format, but very interesting to exploit where one seeks to achieve the effect of presence through the beauty of the photos and the background noise. And with that, you have to tell a story. An important story, a whole story ”, describes Makhpora Kiromova.
Residents who have “never known an easy life”
According to Makhpora Kiromova, the only problem encountered during the realization of this idea was that of financing the trip. For the shooting of the film, you had to go to one of the most remote regions of Dushanbe, the Tajik capital. The project, described by the producer as “Extremely heavy financially”, was made possible thanks to the support of the Institut Société Ouverte, a Tajik foundation.
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“I left my heart in the mountains of Pamir about five years ago, and I wanted to go back to see these generous and always ready to help people who, as we all know, have never known an easy life and in the era of pandemic have more problems “ confides the author. “I came back from there with two stories composed with the photographer Nozim Kalandarov, whose works, I was sure, were capable of embellishing the project: one story comes from Alitchour, the other from Boulounkoul», ajoute Makhpora Kiromova.
The pandemic experienced differently in the mountains and in the capital
“Both places are over 4000 meters above sea level, unemployment usually rises to 60%. In 2020, however, following the pandemic which deprived the population of tourism, one of the only means of earning a living, the rate rose to 90% “, describes the producer. “And not to talk about it would be a crime”, she says.
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“Here in the capital, despite this ‘disaster’ we still continue to celebrate festivals around different vegetables and berries, there was recently a plov eating contest. And up there in the mountains, people are struggling to make ends meet. And these economic consequences of the pandemic, as is assumed, will rock us again and again. And we live in a little serious way ”, considers Makhpora Karimova.
Other films to come
Soon, according to the producer, Boulounkoul’s story will be published on the Internet. This, she admits, particularly moved her. ” I discovered that there were places in our country where there was no trace of civilization. You will probably say that I am naive and stupid, but when I was about 33 I honestly believed that there was no more wild place. I was wrong “, describes Makhpora Kiromova. “Soon we will go to Gornaya Matcha and Yaghnob, hence our media also report few stories. I would like to talk about the mentality and the way of life specific to the inhabitants of these two places that few Tajiks know elsewhere ”, she describes.
Read also on Novastan:In Tajikistan, some villages fell back to the Middle Ages
The photo film “Alitchour” is made in Tajik with Tajik subtitles. Russian and English subtitles are also available.
Written by Chirine Rakhmanova
Journalist for Asia-Plus
Translated from russian by Ariadna Goulevskaya
Edited by Christine Wystup
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