Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia, lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the capital and largest city of the country. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east and southeast. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's 7 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians.
Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russian, but also in Kyrgyz. He is one of the best known figures in Kyrgyzstan's literature.
Human rights in Kyrgyzstan improved after the ouster of President Askar Akayev in the 2005 Tulip Revolution and the installment of a more democratic government under Roza Otunbayeva. While the country is performing well compared to other states in Central Asia, many human rights violations still take place. While LGBT rights have been declining in recent years, freedom of press has been improving.
Kurmanjan Datka or Datka Kurmanjan Mamatbay kyzy, also known as "The Tsaritsa of Alai" or "The Queen of the South", was a politician in Kyrgyzstan who acquiesced under duress to the annexation of that region to Russia. She was a female tribal leader and nicknamed queen.
Aktan Arym Kubat, also known as Aktan Abdykalykov, is a Kyrgyzstani director, screenwriter and actor. Member of the National Film Academy of the Kyrgyzstan, acting Member of the European Film Academy, acting Member of Asia Pacific Screen Academy.
Beshkempir is a 1998 Kyrgyz language film. Shot and produced in Kyrgyzstan, it is representative of the first wave of independently produced cinema in the country after its independence from Soviet Union. It was directed by Aktan Abdykalykov, and stars the director's son Mirlan Abdykalykov in the lead role. This simple bildungsroman went on to receive critical acclaim, and won numerous international awards including the Silver Leopard Prize at the 1998 Locarno International Film Festival. The film was selected as the Kyrgyz entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic is the central bank of Kyrgyzstan and is primarily responsible for the strategic monetary policy planning of the country as well as the issuance of the national currency, the Som.
KTRK or the Public Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic is the public broadcasting corporation of the Kyrgyzstan headquartered in Bishkek.
Azimzhan Askarov was a Kyrgyzstani political activist who founded the group Vozduh in 2002 to investigate police brutality. Of ethnic Uzbek descent, during the 2010 South Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes, which primarily targeted people of the Uzbek nationality, Askarov worked to document the violence.
Queen of the Mountains is a 2014 Kyrgyz epic drama film directed by Sadyk Sher-Niyaz. It was selected as the Kyrgyz entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.
Sadyk Sher-Niyaz is a director, producer, and public figure from the Kyrgyz Republic, best known for his work on the film Kurmanjan Datka: Queen of the Mountains
The International Film Festival Kyrgyzstan - Land of Short Films is an annual film festival held to celebrate short films from the former Soviet Union. The 5th Annual International Film Festival Kyrgyzstan - Land of Short Films will be held December 12 to December 15, 2015 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.
Aitysh Public Fund is a charitable organization, which aims to promote and develop culture throughout Kyrgyzstan. Founded by public figure, producer and director Sadyk Sher-Niyaz in 2001 in the capital of Bishkek, the structure of the Fund consists of the Union of Improvised Singing ‘Aitysh’, Film Production Company ‘Aitysh Film’, International Film Festival "Kyrgyzstan - Land of Short Films", Manas Cinema network and Literary Organization ‘Kalemger’.
Ruslan Akun is a Kyrgyz director, producer and screenwriter who has worked on films and TV shows. He is best known for Salam, New York (2013), Herding (2014) and Kok boru: Time persistent (2018).
State awards of the Kyrgyz Republic include the orders, decorations, and medals in Kyrgyzstan. They consist of military and civil decorations that are bestowed by various agencies of the government.
The Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy, previously known as the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the ministry in charge of preservation and promotion of Kyrgyzstani culture in the republic and abroad. The ministry has its roots from the Soviet Union's Ministry of Culture, although the current ministry did not succeed directly from the Soviet ministry. Moreover there were no ministries or state committees for tourism in the Soviet Union, because tourists to and from non-communist countries were highly restricted and few in numbers.
Kasymaly Jantöshev was a Kyrgyz writer and playwright. Jantöshev is regarded as one of the most important Kyrgyz writers, and is considered to be one of the founders of Kyrgyz drama and theatre. Many of his works portray the transformation of Kyrgyz society during the 20th-century, and contain socialist themes. One of Jantöshev's novels, Kanybek, has become part of Kyrgyzstan's cultural heritage, and remains very popular within the country.
"Kinoshock" Open Film Festival of CIS and Baltic countries, also spelt Kinoshok, is a film festival staged in the Black Sea resort of Anapa, Russia, each September. "CIS" refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising nine member states.
