Young Kyrgyz director and cinematographer Kanybek Kalmatov has announced the start of work on Kyrgyzstan’s first full-length feature film dedicated to the life and career of the great writer Chingiz Aitmatov. The project has already attracted the attention of the professional community as one of the most significant film initiatives in recent years.
The film’s special value is that Kanybek Kalmatov has officially secured exclusive rights to adapt Aitmatov’s biography. The corresponding agreement was signed with Eldar Aitmatov, the writer’s son, marking a crucial legal and moral milestone in the film’s development.
The film’s creators note that the first teaser trailer has already been filmed, and its premiere will mark the launch of a larger project. However, the main question, attracting the greatest attention from the public and the press, remains a mystery: who will play Chingiz Aitmatov is being kept under wraps. The filmmakers promise an unexpected and powerful solution, but are not yet revealing it.
The story centers on the writer’s struggle for a voice, his ideas, and the preservation of his national identity. The film aims not only to show the path of the great Kyrgyz thinker but also to serve as a source of inspiration for a new generation—those who dream, create, and believe in the power of art.
Kanybek Kalmatov is a graduate of the cinematography department at VGIK (Moscow). He is known as the director of photography for the film «Beyish Enenin Tamanynda,» the highest-grossing film in the history of Kyrgyz cinema. The director’s new project marks a step toward mainstream art—a film that, in his words, «must remain in the people’s memory.»
The film’s premiere is scheduled for 2026.
