Tender is the Youth

about home
Laboratory for visual storytelling, Tajikistan, 2025, 5 min. Tajik with English subtitles

Мiртемiрде бэрi жаксы (Mirtemir Is Alright)
Sasha Kulak, Michael Borodin, Germany, Uzbekistan, 2024, 19 min, Karakalpak, Russian with English subtitles 

In Her Room
Rusudan Mirobzalova, Uzbekistan, 2024, 24 min. Russian with English subtitles

Lukhtak (Doll)
Samariddin Mukhitdinov, China, Tajikistan, 2024, 15 min. Tajik with English subtitles

next station
Shuhrat Davlatov, Laura Saidova, Yasmina Ayupova (Alternativa Teen Lab), Uzbekistan, 2025, 36 min. Uzbek, Russian with English subtitles

Starting and finishing with the collaborative works of teenagers this programme section intends to uncover what living through a tender age in Central Asia feels like and how it forms a sense of boundaries within one's own room, place of residence and family. (CASFF)

about home: What color is the home? What color vibe of this home? What color is the memory of home?

Мiртемiрде бэрi жаксы (Mirtemir Is Alright): Mirtemir is growing up in Nukus, a dusty city caught between the desert and the dead Aral Sea. His mother has moved away to earn money in a neighboring country, and Tima lives with his blind grandmother. He waits tables at a fast-food joint during the day and entertains people at a mobile karaoke by night. Days full of hard work and responsibility, too demanding even for an adult, are nonetheless full of joy and adolescent bliss.

In Her Room: This film is about a teenager in the 11th grade, her final year of school. Salima still doesn’t know what to choose for her future or what to do. All her doubts and thoughts lead her to a room where she feels safe.

Lukhtak (Doll): Confronted with financial hardship, a Tajik family decides to marry off their underage daughter without her consent in exchange for a “kalym" (bride price,). She and her younger sister are caught in a cycle endured by generations of their family.

next station: When Nodyr, the obedient son in a traditional Uzbek family, must choose between performing with his secret rock band or attending the arranged engagement his father planned to secure their family's future, their lives hidden from each other collide.