Two Tajik films will be showcased at the 13th annual International Muslim Film Festival in Kazan.

A feature movie by Tajik filmmaker Umedsho Mirzoshirinov entitled “Mushkilkusho” will compete in the “Full-length Fiction Film” nomination.  

This movie was named as the Best Tajik Film at the 2016 Didor International Festival in Dushanbe.

The film is unique for its use of Pamiri languages, which are listed as endangered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“Mushkilkusho,” which means overcoming challenges in life, tells the story of a Pamiri girl, who falls in love with a musician in Moscow, where she has travelled in search of a better life.

Movies from ten countries will compete for the top prize in the “Full-length Fiction Film” nomination.

A documentary by Tajik filmmaker Safarbek Soliyev entitled “Kamil” will compete in compete in the “Full-length Documentary Film” nomination.

This film is dedicated to creative work of Soviet filmmaker Kamil Yarmatov (1903-1978), the first student at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography from Central Asia.    

On September 5, directors, actors, and festival jury members will walk the red carpet to attend the opening ceremony of the festival that will run through September 11. 

Apart from competition program there will be a wide variety of non-competition and parallel programs awaiting the audience.  

The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival was created in 2005.  It takes place at the beginning of September in the city Kazan.

Initially it was supposed to be a mobile festival between Muslim regions in Russia and other States of the Muslim world, and the city of Kazan was chosen to be a start point, because it is the biggest Islamic city in the northern hemisphere.

The President of the Republic of Tatarstan (an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation) insisted that the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival should be the Culture Brand of the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, which became the permanent residence for the festival, and city name has been added to the name of the festival.