Directed by: Elizaveta Stishova
Runtime: 102 minutes
Country: Russia, Kyrgyzstan
Language: Kyrgyz, Russian with English subtitles
Rating: NC16 (Some Coarse Language)
The titular setting of this tragicomic family film is a mystical destination for many, thought to cure everything from barrenness to back pain. However, middle-aged spiritual healer Zhipara is going to need something more than sacred to keep her family together. The philandering of hard drinking, gambling husband Karabas forces her to contend with his younger, pregnant and jealous second wife. To keep her place, Zhipara claims to have found long-lost son Uluk in an orphanage. With his supposed heir’s return, Karabas happily takes everyone on a roadtrip to swindle superstitious villagers. But Uluk, having cultivated a memory of a “good” family, disagrees with the adults’ childish and scheming ways. With one disgruntled child and another on the way, the grown-ups are forced to question their parental desires and abilities.
Awards
EAST OF THE WEST COMPETITION.
BEST FILM & FEDEORA AWARD (Award of the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2018
FIPRESCI PRIZE (Award of the International Federation of Film Critics)
Eurasian International Film Festival 2018
BEST ACTOR
Bratislava International Film Festival 2018
ROBERTO ROSSELLINI AWARD (Best Film)
Pingyao International Film Festival 2017
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS.
BEST FILM (Crouching Tigers section)
Pingyao International Film Festival 2017
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Suleiman Mountain will be available for rent via Vimeo On Demand at USD$3.50 from 19 June to 16 July 2020. Please click on the “Book Now” button which will redirect you to Vimeo. Upon purchase, the film will be available to you for 48 hours.
Due to the closure of cinemas following the COVID-19 pandemic, Whose House Is This? : New Cinema of Central Asia is the first programme from the Asian Film Archive that will be presented entirely online, as part of the newly-launched series “Rewired”.