Yuragim

"Born out of a personal crisis, the film became an act of self-reflection. It explores how liberation is not about escape but about reshaping the very structures that confine us. Saida’s journey is both intimate and universal, a story of reclaiming agency in a world that often scripts women into silence, especially those caught between tradition and change. We were guided by love for Central Asia, Uzbekistan and its people. We feel a deep empathy for them and their stories. Yet, we prefer to whisper rather than to shout, avoiding slogans and loud statements. Instead, we invite viewers to sink into the film’s space and time, to sense with their own skin what it means to belong to that world, and to undergo a transformation, however small, through confronting themselves with questions." (Directors' Statement)

Set in modern day Uzbekistan, a country balancing its Soviet past with ancient traditions, the film follows Saida, living between worlds and roles. To her mother, she is a humble schoolteacher. Yet she also works as a fixer for foreign business delegations. Her job goes beyond translation and assistance; she facilitates the arrangement of "special services" for businessmen, teaching local women German phrases to navigate these encounters.

In both the classroom and the meeting rooms, Saida's life is defined by repetition. She teaches others to speak words that are never their own. Like a train on its tracks, she is always in motion but never free to choose her direction. As her boss, Shukhrat, closes in on her and starts looking for her at the school where she teaches, she must decide: follow the tracks laid for her or vanish into a world of her own making.

During a ritual sacrifice attended only by men and her mother, Saida finally breaks. She steps out of her assigned role and claims the position of the director. Deciding there is no longer any space for her within this narrative, she vanishes from the frame. The cameras continue to roll, but the story proceeds without her.