Skylark

Script-writer & director: Narghiza Dotieva

Idea & producer: Gulnara Kasmambetova

Director of photography: Benjamin Liddel

Composer: Evgeniy Kim

Starring: Ularbek Mirlanov & Bermet Omurova

Production: "Kyrgyzserial" & "Dapanfilm"

Country of the production: Kyrgyzstan

The film was completed: December, 2025

Duration: 85 min.

World premiere: 28th Shanghai IFF, June 2026

Synopsis: Rooted in the legacy of Soviet-era border-making, Skylark follows Aibek, a teenager, in a Kyrgyz village beside the Tajik border. He navigates the delicate balance between tender domestic life and the heightened tension of living near a border. As tensions reignite, he’s caught between memory, duty, and his mother’s absence. Skylark is a coming-of-age story shaped by partition of land and family.

Narghiza Dotieva

Info about director:

Narghiza Dotieva, a Kyrgyz director and writer, grew up listening to her grandfather recite the epic of Manas, the Kyrgyz people’s folklore. This early exposure inspired her to pursue filmmaking, allowing her to share stories like her grandfather. She obtained a First Class Honours in Film at the University of Westminster in London. After her studies she worked in documentary and advertising, shooting commercials for brands like Hyundai, Dove, BMW, Turkish Airlines, DHL, and many others. Currently, she is in pre-production for her first feature film set in Kyrgyzstan.

Among her short fictions - "Blue Gate" (2024) - participant & laureate of many festivals.