Alisher, a young Muslim man living in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, has reasons to be happy—his parents have found him a beautiful wife, Dildora, and he has a baby on the way—but what he doesn’t have is a job. Osh has few job opportunities, an effect of the generally declining economy of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. If you are Alisher, you might very well decide to strike out for Moscow in hope of finding a little work, and he does. Directors Magnus Gertten and Elin Jönsson follow the lives of this young couple as they face hard choices and often harsh conditions. While Alisher goes on his quest for work, Dildora stays behind with her new in-laws. But nothing goes according to plan. Away from Osh for the first time, Alisher finds himself drinking, clubbing, eating haraam, tangling with police and generally failing to provide for the folks back home. Meanwhile, Alisher’s parents lose their flat in a shady business deal, the electricity gets cut off at their new house and life is looking pretty grim. In the midst of all this, Dildora is about to give birth. Alisher and Dildora’s relationship has a sweetness and an openness that seems to bode well for their future, but will love be enough to overcome the challenges they face? The choices they make and the various outcomes may surprise us, but their struggles are familiar to us all. The film offers an intimate look at a family in crisis, a couple in love and a society in transition.

Filmmaker Q&A

Introduce yourself:
I am a former radio and TV-journalist and a fulltime documentary filmmaker in Malmö, Sweden, since 1998.  Among my internationally screened films are THE WAY BACK – BLÅDÅRAR 2 (2002), THE SOLOIST (2003), GET BUSY (2004), ROLLING LIKE A STONE (2005) and LONG DISTANCE LOVE (2008).  

What inspired this film? How did you find your subjects?
Love is always an important inspiration in life and in filmmaking. I teamed up with journalist Elin Jönsson, a specialist on Russia and Central Asia. Together we went to south Kyrgyzstan and found our main character, Alisher. He looked a bit like a young Al Pacino...  

What were some of the biggest challenges/surprises?
Shooting in Kyrgyzstan and Russia is a constant struggle. But we also danced a lot, especially at all the Kyrgyz and Uzbek weddings we got invited to.  

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?
Can’t choose, there are too many of them. But my favorite single scene in a movie is the ’tree scene’ in Fellini’s AMARCORD.  

What is your all time favorite documentary?
Changes all the time. Today it’s WOODSTOCK – 3 DAYS OF PEACE & MUSIC (Michael Wadleigh, 1970) and THE MONASTERY (Pernille Rose Grønkjær, 2006).  

What other projects are in the pipeline?
A music documentary. And a film that takes place in April 1945…  

Why did you become a filmmaker?
The possibility to knock on a door anywhere in the world and listen to a life story.  

What are some of your creative influences?
People, songs, bars, etc.  

Did you go to film school?
No, just a journalistic education many years ago.  

What do you shoot on?
Different formats.  

What has been the most unexpected thing to happen since taking the film on the festival circuit?
Maybe the guy in the audience in Warsaw who thought LONG DISTANCE LOVE was a fiction movie.  

Why did you want to screen your film at SILVERDOCS?
I love coming back after a great time at SILVERDOCS 2006 with ROLLING LIKE A STONE.