The international film festival “Toji Somon” (“Crown of Somon”) opened in Tajikistan on October 15 and will run until October 20. The festival coincides with Tajik Cinema Day, celebrated annually on October 16.
This year’s edition is held under the theme “The History of the Development of the Tajik People.” The program includes more than 40 films from 15 countries, along with special screenings for the Days of Iranian, Russian, and Kyrgyz Cinema.
On the festival’s opening day, October 15, the jury began evaluating the films in competition. Later that day, at 5:00 p.m., the Tahir Sobirov Cinema hosted a cultural event and the official opening of the Days of Iranian Cinema in Tajikistan.
The main screenings will take place from October 16 through the evening of October 19, with more than 40 films shown in cinemas across Dushanbe.
On October 16 at 11:30 a.m., before the screenings begin, an international conference will be held to mark the 60th anniversary of renowned Tajik director Bakhtiyor Khudoynazarov.
Festival films will also be shown in other regions of the country. In the Khatlon Region, audiences will see Life Is Beautiful (Tajikistan), House for Sale (Kyrgyzstan), The Black Fortress (Belarus), The Road of Bumba (India), and Superior Citizens (Kazakhstan).
In the Sughd Region, screenings will include Air and The Captain’s Daughter (Russia), In Search of Spring (Uzbekistan), The Tree (Turkmenistan), and Red Dream (Tajikistan).
In the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, the program will feature In Search of Truth (Tajikistan), The Prince (Moldova), Bridge over a Dry River (Iran), Personality Disorder (Indonesia), and The Oak (Turkey).
The closing ceremony of the second International Film Festival “Toji Somon” and the awards presentation will take place on October 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sadriddin Ayni State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.
The festival’s organizer, the state enterprise Tajikfilm, notes that “Toji Somon” is held biennially. The first edition took place from October 15 to 19, 2023, bringing together filmmakers from Russia, Uzbekistan, China, France, India, Kazakhstan, and other countries. This year’s event is described as the second festival. However, in 2024, media reported on another event in Dushanbe with the same name, which included the Days of Belarusian, Iranian, and Russian Cinema. Some sources referred to that event as the Second National Film Award, identifying the 2023 international festival “Toji Somon” as the first.
From 2004 to 2019, Dushanbe hosted the “Didor” film festival every October.