Dzhasur Iskhakov

Dzhasur Ilkhomovich Iskhakov (Jasur Is'hoqov) was born on 16 March 1947 in Tashkent into an educated family. His father, Ilham Iskhakov, taught philosophy at Tashkent universities; his mother, Habiba Ziyakhanova, was a dentist and literary translator. After finishing school in 1965 he entered the architecture department of the Tashkent Polytechnic Institute, and in 1967 he moved to the directing faculty of the Ostrovsky Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute, graduating in 1971.

After the institute he made documentaries at the Tashkent telefilm studio. In the mid-1970s he studied at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors under the USSR State Committee for Cinematography, in 1976 he worked at Uzbekkinokhronika under Malik Kayumov, and from 1978 he was at the Uzbekfilm studio. His script for “Clear Springs” (1978) marked his debut in feature film; the films “In the Rapids of a Raging River” (1980) and “Takeoff Is Permitted” were also made from his screenplays.

He became widely known through his work with the director Elyor Ishmukhamedov and the screenwriter Odelsha Agishev: “Farewell, Summer Greenery” (1985), “Shock” and “With Love and Pain” (both 1989). “Farewell, Summer Greenery” won the Grand Prix of the All-Union Film Festival in Alma-Ata (1986) and the Golden Peacock at the International Film Festival of India in Delhi (1987). Iskhakov is a laureate of the Hamza State Prize of the Uzbek SSR.

As a director working from his own scripts he made five feature films: “Stay!..” (1992), “The Curse of the Golden Horse” (1998), “A Hunt for Real Men” (2006), “Adventures in the Land of Chatranga” (2008) and “The Day of Truth” (2011). He also took part in making more than thirty documentaries and about ten animated films, and wrote items for the satirical film magazines Nashtar and Zumrasha. His documentaries include “Children of the War”, about children evacuated to Uzbekistan during the Second World War, and “Capital of Friendship and Warmth”, about the part all Soviet republics played in rebuilding Tashkent after the 1966 earthquake.

Iskhakov was also a playwright and prose writer. His plays were staged in Tashkent theatres: “For Sale for Scrap”, “Mardikor”, “Doughnuts for Anzhi”, “Butalok” and “An ABC for Little Pedestrians”. His stories and essays appeared in Uzbek and foreign magazines and newspapers; the story “The Eighth Round with Robert Taylor” took first place at the international “Literary Vienna” competition (2011). A collection of stories, “Dreams of Old Tashkent”, came out in 2017, and the book “Night of the Yellow Moon” in 2020.

He was a member of the Union of Cinematographers of Uzbekistan and the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan, and taught on courses for young filmmakers. With his wife, the journalist and director Mastura Iskhakova, he hosted a radio programme about cinema, “Let's Talk About Cinema”. He died in Tashkent on 2 December 2021.