Hollywood actors and Kazakhstani stuntmen starred in Lola Karimova’s film about Ulugh Beg

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ASTANA. KAZINFORM The youngest daughter of the late Uzbek President Islam Karimov - Lola Karimova - has announced on her Facebook account about the premiere of her new documentary film "Ulugh Beg. Through hardships to the stars" produced together with her husband Timur.    


“This is my husband Timur's and my first work as film producers. The documentary is dedicated to the exploration of life and legacies of Ulugh Beg, the great 15th century astronomer who ruled Transoxania, Central Asia, from 1411-1449.

The idea of creating the film originated a long time ago. Ulugh Beg’s personality and historical role have fascinated me ever since my childhood. A great polymath and enlightened ruler, Ulugh Beg was an extraordinary man, whose incredible impact and legacy goes beyond the boundaries of time and space.

Ulugh Beg’s name can be listed among the likes of Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler.
During Ulugh Beg’s rule, Samarkand became the center of the world’s most advanced studies in astronomy. He built a monumental observatory which brought together some of the most prominent scholars of the time.

Ulugh Beg compiled a catalogue containing data on 1,118 stars and measured the year to within 25 seconds of its actual duration. Moreover, his calculation of the earth’s axial tilt as 23.52 degrees is still the most accurate measurement to date. Star charts created by Ulugh Beg were used in navigation up until the 19th century.

This was a man with a difficult, tragic but extraordinary life. A remarkable person with an impressive intellect and passion for science and knowledge, he was far ahead of his time, and tragically became a victim of the darkness and ignorance of the epoch.

While working on the film’s script we carried out a long and painstaking research to explore the events surrounding Ulugh Beg’s extraordinary life since his birth into the Timurid dynasty through his remarkable childhood and education right up to his death,” Karimova writes.
  
She points out that raised in the court of his grandfather Tamerlane, the great medieval conqueror and founder of the Timurid empire, Ulugh Beg was educated by the best scholars of that time. Tamerlane considered education and knowledge as key drivers of his country’s future prosperity, and therefore paid close attention to his grandson’s education, which played a decisive role in the development of Ulugh Beg's personality as a just ruler and an outstanding scholar.
 
“It was my firm conviction that the film should be made by a person who was born and raised in Uzbekistan and with an extensive background knowledge on the subject. Film director Bakhodir Yuldashev and I have known each other for many years. He gladly accepted our offer to work on the project, and got completely immersed in the story, the epoch and the extraordinary personality of the great scholar and ruler. I think Bakhodir did an excellent job of providing an insight into Ulugh Beg’s life and achievements. The film features interviews with leading experts and scholars from the USA, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Russia, Uzbekistan and Netherlands,” she adds. 

Many of the international scholars the producers have spoken to stressed the important role of Ulugh Beg’s remarkable achievements and inventions in invoking their interest in our country and region as a whole.

The documentary also features artefacts, manuscripts and exhibits held at the Bodleian libraries in Oxford, British museum, Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur in France, the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, St. John’s College. Filming was also done at Princeton University, Griffith Observatory and the University of California.

Starring in the film are world-renowned actors Vincent Cassel, Armand Assante and Francisco Ovalle and Uzbek actors Maruf Otajonov, Javakhir Zakirov and Khashim Arslanov.

"The film makers also introduced some scenes with enactments of historical events. A very close attention was paid to making and selecting the elaborate outfits to better reflect the spirit of that time. Uzbek and Kazakh stuntmen were also involved in shooting," Karimova notes.  

The film’s score was composed by well-known record producer and songwriter Walter Afanasieff, the winner of the 1999 Grammy Award in the Record of the Year category for producing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. Afanasieff produced and arranged many successful motion picture soundtracks, including for “Aladdin» ("A Whole New World"), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” ("Someday") and “Hercules.

Amazing Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan’s brilliant performance features in the film’s soundtrack.

Karimova promised to keep her followers abreast of news regarding the film’s premiere.
 

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