About

This selection of short films and experimental artworks features emerging filmmakers and artists who belong to DAVRA Collective. DAVRA is an artist collective that aims to connect and support artists across the Central Asian region, especially women artists who are underrepresented in filmmaking. The group was originally formed in 2021 by Saodat Ismailova as an extension of her project “Chilltan” for documenta fifteen and has since continued its members mission to encourage collaboration and support each other.

Alaqan (The Palm) 2022

With gentle hands, soft laughter and quiet words a young woman and her grandmother make the traditional Kazakh cheese Qurt. In Kazakhstan, because of Soviet suppression of culture, Qurt is a symbol of nomadic resistance and an important food that not only helped Kazakh’s weather a famine but also continued their connection with traditional ways of life. Alaqan is a deceptively simple and yet richly informed film that explores the idea that labouring in the kitchen and sharing moments of reflection are sacred and healing rituals performed daily by women across many households.

28 minutes | All Ages

Hazm Kardan Dushvor Ast (Hard to Digest) 2021

Exploring themes of memory and identity, artist Nazira Karimi has assembled footage of women from her family’s video archives and weaves this together with a voiceover by the artist sharing a recipe in her broken German language for a traditional Central Asian rice dish. Artist Nazira Karimi has intentionally not subtitled the film as a comment on the nuances that are lost in translation.

6 minutes | All Ages

All the Dreams We Dream 2020

For many years under Soviet rule, filmmakers were forbidden to portray parts of Kazakh history that could be considered a criticism of the Soviet state. Now, a young generation of filmmakers are exploring these taboo topics and revisiting the past they feel needs to be discussed. Animator Asel Kadyrkhanova uses powerful and poetic imagery to engage with a piece of Kazakh history that looms large in the collective memory – that of the Kazakh famine that swept across the country.

20 minutes | Ages 12+ | Moderate themes of hardship, mild nudity

Autonomy 2022

Women quietly talk together on a public bench; a girl plays in her home and other women ascend and descend a public stairway. With these images, Tajik director Zumrad Mirzalieva asks the question: is it only through motherhood that a woman can be fulfilled? Mirzalieva engages with the complex and nuanced issue of women’s agency in Uzbekistan.

6 minutes | All Ages

White Noise 2021

An eloquent snapshot of the daily challenges and delights of mothering a young child and the physical rhythms they share within an apartment.

5 minutes | All Ages