Amid preparations for the upcoming 2nd Tashkent International Cinema Forum “Golden Guepard” (September 30 – October 5), a group of leading local cinematographers and journalists came together to discuss ongoing preparations and swap ideas at the Fund Forum. Those gathered also focused on the slogan of the cinema forum and the role of production designers and cameramen in modern cinema.

The meeting was attended by leading Uzbek cinematographers such as Akbar Hakimov, the general director of the Cinema Forum, Nozim Tulahojayev, the art director of the cinema forum, film director Bahodir Odilov as well as famous and aspiring cameramen, production designers, costume designers and journalists.

Barely a month has passed since the previous cinematic meeting on June 13, but the organizers have come up with new interesting and important ideas and information about the upcoming cinema forum.

Thus far, over 100 entries have been submitted to the cinematic contest from the following countries: Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Romania, Germany, India, Serbia, Georgia, Canada, Austria, Norway, Italy, Estonia, Hungary, Switzerland, Bulgaria, France, Denmark, Spain, the USA, Iran, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Azerbaijan, Israel, Armenia and the South African Republic. The extensive geography of the cinema forum is emblematic of increasing interest in the event.

Held by Fund Forum with support from Uzbekkino National Agency, the Golden Guepard has a permanent motto “Civilizations of the 21st Century: a Dialog of Cultures”, which mirrors the project’s primary goal: establishment and development of intercultural dialog among various countries through cinematic art. The annual cinema forum is given a different slogan every year, and this year’s slogan is “\"The hidden harmony is better than the obvious”, a quote by ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus that, according to the organizers, reflects the essence of the upcoming cinema forum.

Heraclitus talked about two types of harmony: hidden and obvious. The hidden harmony is, first of all, the underlying message of any phenomenon or concept. Auteur films that the cinema forum presents exemplify the hidden harmony. This slogan will be employed by the selection committee as a tool for selecting entries.

The preparations for the Golden Guepard include discussion platforms. This year an international conference titled “Modern Cinema: Space, Time, Soul” is scheduled to take pace as part of the cinema forum. The conference will be attended by famous international cinema experts and actors.

The discussions of preparations for the Golden Guepard were followed by the second part of the meeting, which was dubbed “The Visual Esthetics of Uzbek Cinema”. This part of the meeting saw the participants discuss the state of Uzbek cinematography from the viewpoint of visual esthetics, the role of productions designers and cameramen in modern cinema, and the current problems in cinema and ways of addressing them. The discussions also featured young cameraman, costume designers, aspiring actors and actresses.

The main problem in Uzbek cinematography in this sense is that the bulk of films produced over the past years lack an artistic touch. The artistic component of cinema includes the work of a production designer, cameraman, costume designer, makeup artist and others.

The lack of professionalism and superficial attitude to the creative aspect of film making has led many, primarily commercial, film studios to pay inadequate attention to the artistic and visual part of cinema. To address the existing problems, suggestions came that famous cinematographers set up their own labs at schools to teach students skills, communicate and exchange opinions with film directors, representatives of film companies and producers.

Yet, notwithstanding the current problems and shortcomings, there has been positive dynamics which is seen in Uzbek cinematography as well as in culture and art at large and brought by projects such as Fund Forum’s Style.Uz Art Week and the annual Golden Guepard Cinema Forum held as part of the Art Week. In the words of Hakimov, the general director of the Golden Guepard, the cinema forum sets new goals and new standards to cinematographers so that they would work toward creating higher quality and more serious films in line with international standards. (Source: Fundforum.uz)