Assol Moldokmatova: Kazan Festival Creates Dialogue of Cultures and Civilizations

As a part of the press events of the 14th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, a press conference with a Kyrgyz TV presenter, actress, fashion designer and a Vice-President of the Chingiz Aitmatov Forum Assol Moldokmatova (Kyrgyzstan).

‘We were able to witness the highest level of organization of the festival during its opening ceremony. This deserves respect and admiration’, noted Moldokmatova.

A day before, she opened a parallel program of the 14^th edition of the Kazan Muslim Film Festival devoted to the retrospective of films inspired by the works of Chingiz Aitmatov dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding writer.

‘This is the 100^th event dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Chingiz Aitmatov. My father, who was a writer and journalist had studied with Chingiz Aitmatov. When my father passed away, Aitmatov together with the members of the Writers Union collected a thousand rubles for our family, which was an impressive sum of money at that time. I am reflecting my gratitude towards him throughout my creative projects’, said Moldokmatova.

She also presented other events related to the anniversary of Aitmatov in 2018, including an opening of Chingiz Aitmatov Park and Library in Antalya, Turkey. Several streets were renamed after Aitmatov in Astana (Kazakhstan), Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk (Russia) .

Assol Moldokmatova also shared her impressions on Kazan and Tatarstan: ‘The capital of Tatarstan for me is a city of new technologies with new architecture immersed into cultural heritage.It is the place, where people respect culture and traditions. Our world is lacking spiritual leaders. However, yesterday, I was delighted to see the ex-President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev. I was pleased to learn that he had become UNESCO Special Envoy for Intercultural Dialogue. Such recognition by international community is impressive would not possible without his outstanding activities in Tatarstan’.

As regards cinematograph, she mentioned that today we are experiencing a shortage of ideas: ‘There is no large-scale filming with many films, including animations, promoting violence. Even cartoons are corrupting the younger generation. In this context, the works of great masters are becoming even more relevant. I really like the Kurosava and Konchalovsky. I grew up watching the films created by widely recognized international directors’.

Assol Moldokmatova presented a doll named Assol in a national costume to the press centre. ‘The doll represents a symbol of tolerance and creativity, which are crucial to the festival. It is wonderful that the festival promotes the dialogue of cultures and civilizations’, she explained.

Photo here