Erin Levi
NEW YORK — Grab your popcorn and shurdanak. In a landmark event for Central Asian cinema, Asia Society will present Eastern Notions: Five Films by Ali Khamraev, the first New York retrospective dedicated to one of Uzbekistan’s most celebrated filmmakers. The four-day series, presented in partnership with Anthology Film Archives, runs from November 20-23, 2025, with the legendary director and actress Gulcha Tashbayeva in attendance for post-screening discussions.
Ali Khamraev, born in 1937 in Tashkent, has been hailed by critic and filmmaker Kent Jones as a «giant» of Uzbek cinema whose passion for the medium places him alongside such luminaries as Orson Welles, Jean-Luc Godard, and Martin Scorsese. Despite his towering achievements, Khamraev’s work remains relatively unknown in the Western world—a gap this retrospective aims to address.
Over his distinguished career, Khamraev has demonstrated remarkable artistic versatility, evolving from realist social dramas to pioneering entries in the «Ostern» genre—Eastern Bloc films that reimagine American Western conventions through the lens of regional history, landscapes, and politics. His later work developed into a deeply poetic, personal style that echoes the sensibilities of his friends and collaborators Sergei Parajanov and Andrei Tarkovsky.
The five films selected for this retrospective trace Khamraev’s artistic evolution while showcasing the depth of his cinematic vision. His work offers penetrating insights into the cultural tensions of post-revolutionary Uzbekistan, particularly the clash between Soviet atheism and Islamic traditions, all rendered through an intimate relationship with Central Asia’s distinctive landscapes.
Poet Fannie Howe has described Khamraev’s films as «poems, with dark pauses between scenes operating like blinks of the eyes of God, like seconds of mercy given and withdrawn.»
The series opens with Without Fear at Anthology Film Archives on November 20, followed by screenings at Asia Society: White, White Storks (November 21 evening), the classic 1971 «Red Western» The Seventh Bullet on 35mm (November 22 matinee), the sweeping coming-of-age fable Man Follows Birds on 35mm (November 22 evening), and the Parajanov-esque memory piece I Remember You on 35mm (November 23).
The retrospective makes a compelling case for recognizing Central Asian cinema’s rightful place in the 20th-century film canon, offering New York audiences a rare opportunity to experience the work of a master filmmaker whose artistic achievements have long deserved wider recognition.
For tickets and more information, visit Asia Society’s website.