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5th International Film Festival Bratislava
November 28 - December 6, 2003

Ecumenical Award of the  5th IFF Bratislava

The Ecumenical Jury (Juraj Drobný, Slovakia, Jan Eliáš, Czech Republic, and Petr Siska, Czech Republic)
has chosen as winner of the Ecumenical Award

Angel on the Right (Farishtay kifti rost)
Tadjikistan, France, Switzerland, Italy, 2002
directed by Jaemshed Usmonov

"for an excellent depiction of an ordinary human fate formed by the Islamic tradition, oscillating between good and bad where hope still has a chance."

Synopsis:
After ten years in Moscow Hamro, a criminal, is coming back to his native village to supposedly take care of his dying mother Halima. However, the real reason for his return is to sell the house and inheritance as soon as possible. He has debts that are long over due...
Hamro immediately begins to repair the house; in order to fetch a higher price and to fulfill his mother’s dream of larger, more decorative gates.A coffin would never fit through the small gate and the mother worries that the funeral would have to begin by throwing the coffin over the fence. Hamro is not a good man, nor has he done many good deeds in his life. But, in the end he realizes that his mother’s love is probably the only thing he can rely on in life. Maybe the time has come for him to start listening more carefully to the angel on his right arm...
According to an old Islamic legend everyone has two invisible angels – one on the left arm, the other on the right. The angel on the right counts the good deeds and good intentions while the left one records everything bad. On Judgement Day the good deeds are compared with the bad ones, and depending on the result the person ends up in hell or in heaven.

About the director, Džamšed Usmonov:

Jaemshed Usmonov (1965, Asht, Tadjikistan) studied film in Moscow and at the University of Arts in Dushanbe. He is an editor, producer, director and actor. He began collecting awards at a number of festivals with his directorial debut and has continued with his second film, which won him the FIPRESCI Prize in London 2002 and the Jury’s Special Award at IFF Angers this year.

Films:
1988: The Man (short); 1998: Parvaz-e zanbur; 2001: Choh (short); 2002: Farishtay kifti rost.