THE SONG SUSTXOTIN

A remote Uzbek village is ravaged by a merciless drought. The desperate inhabitants resort to ancient rituals in an attempt to alter their cruel fate. However, for some individuals the suffering goes even deeper: Usman, an ousted journalist who now works as a teacher, has written an article about the rape of an underaged female student. Instead of justice being served, the crime is covered up. Even worse: Hozhar, the student in question, is not permitted to leave her house, on the orders of her father, while Usman is arrested for defamation and thrown in jail. Ahbor, the film's protagonist, a high-ranking civil servant who recently quit his job, heeds his old university friend's call for help and travels to the village, where he attempts everything in his power to restore both the girl's honour and that of his friend. Alas, can he really fight a system that he himself once helped to create? Through the side-view mirrors of Ahbor's car, Khusnora Ro’zmatova takes an empathetic look at rural life in Uzbekistan – and at a whirlwind of lies and deceit. In the end, the question remains: are the poorest, whose lives depend on the powerful, granted any right at all to live in dignity and honour? German Premiere