The Turkmen film ‘Daragt’ (‘Tree of Destiny’), directed by Sahysalyh Bayramov, was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 2nd ‘Tojik Somoni’ International Film Festival, held from 15 to 20 October in Dushanbe. This was reported by the IIC of Turkmenistan.

The film, shot at the Oguzhan ‘Turkmenfilm’ studio, was presented in the festival's competition programme. The jury, which included experts from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, highly praised the film for its profound exploration of the themes of loyalty and family values.

The film tells the story of a Turkmen woman, Nazik, who sees her husband off to the front during the Great Patriotic War and, despite years of waiting, remains hopeful that he will return. The plot is based on real events and eyewitness accounts.

The award was a recognition of the attention paid in Turkmenistan to the preservation of spiritual and family traditions. Directors from more than 20 countries took part in the festival, which was timed to coincide with Tajik Cinema Day.

The festival also featured the film ‘Composer’ by director Maksat Gylyjov, produced by ‘Turkmenfilm’ with the support of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children in Need of Guardianship.

The Oguzhan ‘Turkmenfilm’ studio remains the leading producer of feature films in the country, presenting viewers with new films that reflect the history, culture and modern life of Turkmenistan.