Raisa Sidenova discusses the role of documentary cinema in Kyrgyzstan

Raisa Sidenova, a researcher of Soviet documentary cinema and a lecturer at the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom, spoke in Paris about the history of Kyrgyz cinema.

Sidenova participated in the Cinematic Stories of Central Asia: Perspectives conference in France from October 8 to 10, 2026. She spoke following a screening of the Kyrgyz film Kurak. Sidenova argued that documentary cinema provided a vital foundation for the development of Kyrgyz film, even though this history often goes unnoticed.

She noted that prominent directors such as Tolomush Okee and Bolotbek Shamshiev began their careers in the documentary field. Sidenova stated that directors at Kyrgyzfilm did more than record events, as they actively experimented with visual language and form.