Trailer

About film "The Great Amir and the Story of Donna Maria":

«The Great Amir and the Story of Donna Maria», Uzbekistan, 2026, 110’, 12+, Uzbek, English, Turkish, Spanish, Japanese languages, historical & artistic drama

Script-writer:

Director: Yalkin Tuichiev

DoP: Rustam Meratov

Producer: Firdavs Abdukhalikov

Cast: Jessica May, Nick Cornwall, Elbek Fayziev, Kupzhursin Allanazarov

Synopsis.The plot of this film unfolds simultaneously across two time periods.The first part of the story takes place in 1402 and tells the story of Donna Maria, the daughter of a Hungarian prince who, by force of circumstance, becomes a concubine of Sultan Bayezid“Thunderbolt” of the Ottoman Empire. The second part of the story takes place in the present day, when Donna Maria’s unfulfilled wish casts a long shadow over the lives of her descendants. Her modern-day descendant, also named Maria, struggles with family difficulties and a serious illness when her aunt expresses a final wish on her deathbed: to deliver Donna Maria’s letter to Samarkand and visit the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum.

Yalkin Tuichiev, director of "The Great Amir and the Story of Donna Maria"

About director Yalkin Tuichiev:

Yalkin Tuichiev is a Uzbek film director and script-writer.

Education:

1999 - Faculty of TV Directing. M.Uyghur Institute of Arts, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

2002 - Faculty of Scriptwriting (Workshop of L.V. Golubkina and O. Dorman). The Higher Courses for Screenwriters and Film Directors, Moscow, Russia.

Among films:

2004 - "Teenager" (Orzu ortida) (Format: 35 millimetre colour tape)

‣ 2005 - Participation in the International Film Festival "Three Continents" in Nantes, France.

‣ 2006 - Prize for "The best visual solution" at the 2d Youth Film Festival "Creative Flight”, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

‣ 2006 - The prize "The best feature film" at the International Film Festival "Shaken Stars", Almaty, Kazakhstan.

‣ 2006 - Grand Prix and the prize of distributors at the International Film Festival in Obirvelie, France.

2006 - "The Source” (“Chashma”) (Format: 35 millimetre colour tape)

‣ Grand Prix of the competition "Perspective" at the 28th Moscow International Film Festival, Russia.

‣ 2006 - Special Jury prize "For Originality" at the International Film Festival in Vesoul, France.

2008 - “Silence” (“Sukunat”) (Format: 35 millimetre colour tape)

‣ Participation in the 30th Moscow International Film Festival, Russia.

2009 - “P.S.” (Ilova) (Format: 35 millimetre colour tape)

‣ Participation in the International Festival of the festival in Tokyo, Japan.

‣ Grand Prix of the 17th Asian Film Festival in Vesoul, France.

‣ Prize "Netpak" to promote Asian cinema in Europe.

‣ Prize of the The Guimet Museum, Paris, France.

2011 - “Not home of mine (“Afghon”) (Format: DCP)

‣ Prize for The Best Director, M&TVA, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

2014 - “In life” (“Hayotda”) (Format: DCP)

‣ Nomination for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA)

2016 - “House for mermaids” (Format: DCP)

‣ Participant of the Berlinare, Berlin, Germany.

‣ Prize for The Best Asian film, International Film Festival in Kyrgyzstan.

2017 - “Woman from the Heaven” (“Masuma”)

‣ Nominee at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA)

‣ Prize for The Best Female Role, International Film Festival in Kyrgyzstan.

2020 - “Two Thousand Songs of Farida” (“Faridaning Ikki Ming Qo’shig’i”)

‣ Participation in the 25th BUSAN International Film Festival (BIFF), South Korea

‣ Contestant at the 2020 Adelaide Film Festival, Australia

‣ Longlist of the Golden Globe Awards 2021, USA

‣ Moscow Premiere Festival Grand Prix 2021, Russia

‣ Snow Leopard Audience Award at the Asian World Film Festival, Los Angeles, USA

‣ Participant of the goEast Film Festival 2021, Wiesbaden, Germany

‣ Participant of the 6th Ulju Mountain Film Festival, South Korea