Alternativa Film Awards 2023

Umut, 19 years old, lives with her mother in the city suburbs and works as a nurse in a hospital. She becomes a randomly selected victim of «bride kidnapping». The film is based on numerous true stories of girls and women who became victims of «bride kidnapping» in Kyrgyzstan. 

An elderly couple live in a quiet Uzbek village. One of their sons lives next door and the other works abroad. One day, their tranquil life is disrupted when the sons start replacing items in their house with new ones. This leads to a conflict between the generations, with emotions running high on both sides. 

Following an old Kazakh tradition called «bauryna salu», Yersultan was given to his grandmother at birth, so she could raise him. He grew up with resentment and a sense of disconnection from his parents. When he turned 12, his grandmother passed away, and he had to move back in with the family he barely knows. 

In the heart of the biggest city in Kazakhstan, amid a summer day, a cruel and tragic event unfolds that unexpectedly forges a bond among the locals. A young documentary filmmaker captures the ongoing events to understand how people respond to the shared pain. 

A single, 40-year-old woman finds out she is pregnant and must decide whether she wants to be a mother during a tumultuous time in the Philippines.

Two brothers reside in a small town. The older brother faces challenges in leaving their home. The only one who looks out for him is his younger brother, who ventures into the town center daily in pursuit of odd jobs. The meetings of the brothers hold the utmost significance in their lives.

In a village in Kyrgyzstan, there is a stone that resembles a woman. According to the legend, a young woman, after a dispute with her husband and father-in-law, flees from her home. In retaliation, the father-in-law casts a curse upon her. As the woman escapes, she is said to turn into stone. This legend is still believed by local women. Unfortunately, some local men, exploiting this superstition, are not averse to subjecting women to not only moral but even physical pressure.

Yelena is an activist fighting for the rights of cotton pickers. Muhabbat is a farmer struggling with the hardships of rural life. This is a story of two strong women facing the challenges of a society where forced labor is the norm.