The second edition of the international Avant Premiere Film Festival in Central Asia will take place from September 29 to October 5 in four Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan—where audiences will have the opportunity to see films previously unreleased in the region. The program includes festival releases, children's animation, documentaries, and classics of French cinema.
In Uzbekistan the films will be screened at Tashkent's Alisher Navoi Palace of Cinema (Panorama), Alisher Navoi str., 4A and the Kinoxona cinema, Socrates str., 10.
The festival will open on October 2 at 19:00 with François Truffaut’s documentary "The Script of My Life" (2024). The film is based on unpublished interviews and letters from the director with his friend Claude de Givre, in which Truffaut dictated the outlines of his autobiography. Through this unique material, audiences will "hear" Truffaut himself—through memories of his childhood, youth, and personal stories that are closely intertwined with his work. This candid portrait allows us to see Truffaut not only as a cult auteur of the New Wave, but also as a subtle, personal chronicle of growing up, the search for intimacy, and the constant quest for freedom. The Director David Teboul will personally present the film in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
October 3, 19:00. The archival film "The Last Metro" (Le dernier métro, 1980) is one of François Truffaut's most famous films, winning ten César awards. Set in occupied Paris during World War II, the underground life of a theater hiding a fugitive Jewish director becomes a symbol of resistance and the power of art amid censorship and fear.
October 4, 16:00. "Maya, Give Me a Name" (2024), an animated film according to Michel Gondry's new fantasy project: a handcrafted miracle born from a child's imagination. Little Maya invents stories, and her dad turns them into cardboard fairy tales where squirrels lounge in hammocks and ketchup covers the entire sea.
October 4, 19:00. The festival program also features the romantic comedy "Jane Austen Ruined My Life" (2024), about a French woman who faces a dilemma worthy of a Jane Austen novel. She must choose: succumb to the charm of a charismatic Englishman or discover true intimacy with an old friend. A touching and ironic story about self-discovery and true love.
October 5, 19:00. The drama "The Romance of Jim" (Le roman de Jim, 2024) tells the story of Emeric, who meets his former colleague Florence, a lonely girl six months pregnant. Gradually, they grow closer, raise their newborn son Jim together, and build a new life. But the return of the boy's biological father, Christophe, changes everything.
The Avant Premiere Film Festival is organized by the independent Tashkent Film School and the French Embassies in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The festival is supported by the French Institute and the Center for the Development of National Cinematography of Uzbekistan.
