Before Dawn

Before Dawn is an atmospheric social drama set in the countryside of Uzbekistan, where chaos rules in the late Seventies. The system of Soviet communal farms is on the brink of collapse. Ordinary people are abused by the bosses of the communal farm, the families of the bosses profit and their children get fatter and fatter. Those who do not tolerate the situation are just removed. To survive, the peasants try to buy land, but that takes a lot of money.That is more or less the background for the personal drama of Iskander and his family. Iskander tries to improve the economic situation of his family and buys no less than seven boxes of silk worms (other families stop at two) that they want to breed at home in the bedroom. Everyone cooperates, but when Iskander wants to sell the silk to the Uzbeki state, the price turns out to be much lower than expected. All the work was for nothing.The tough mood and the eye for detail in Azimov’s film is reminiscent of Italian neo-realism. In Uzbekistan, the film was shelved by officials because of its critical tone. However recently it was rediscovered by colleague film-maker Yusup Razikov, who again focused attention on the film. Just like Razikov’s own Women’s Paradise (that is also being screened in Rotterdam), Before Dawn is an excellent example of new developments in Uzbeki cinema, where new themes are introduced step-by-step.