Aiturgan Temirova

Dedicated to memory of the Soviet war hero Aliya Maldagulova who died fighting during the Siege of Leningrad.

Samat is an orphan, and he strikes up a friendship with Musa, who is wheelchair bound due to illness. Little does he know Musa has ties to the criminal world.

Longing to discover his father, a sad young boy dreams of becoming a fish and swimming to the great white ship he sees traversing Lake Issyk. Lost in his dreams, and buoyed by the pagan tales of his Central Asian grandfather, he feels a close communion with nature: so much so that when a hunter kills a stag, he too takes a final, liberating leap.

Directed by Bolotbek Shamshiyev, the movie shows Kyrgyzstan under early Soviet rule; and tells us about opium contrabanda across the border.