True Noon (film)

True Noon (Tajik transliteration: Qiyomi roz) is a 2009 Tajik film directed by Nosir Saidov. It was chosen as official selection in 2009 for the International Film Festival Rotterdam.^[1] True Noon became the first Tajik film which made it to distribution in Tajikistan in 18 years, i.e. since independence.^[2] It was also aired at the Marrakech International Film Festival.^[3]

The film was originally funded by Talco Management, a domestic company. However, the funding stopped due to the economic crisis, and Saidov had to search for funding in Europe.^[4]

The film deals with the changes and unease caused in the common man's life by the government, about which he cares nothing. The state acts only to control its citizens and does not add anything to their life. The film portrays the effects of the change of the borders between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (not explicitly named in the film), which leads to the erecting of a new fence between two villages and the people's basic instinct to resist this arbitrary change. The film is largely absurdist and humorous, while dealing with weighty matters.