Zulfikar Musakov
Uzbek film director and screenwriter behind Abdullajon, Boys in the Sky, Vatan and Lead; Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan (2006).
- Occupation:
- Director, Film director
- Born:
- January 19 1958(68 years old) ♑
- Birthplace:
- Tashkent
Biography
Zulfikar Musakov was born in Tashkent on 19 January 1958. In 1981 he graduated from the directing faculty of the Ostrovsky Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute, and then studied at the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors of the USSR State Committee for Cinematography.
His film career began in the 1980s, with early works such as Judgement Day (1983), The Swallow (1988) and A Soldier's Tale (1989) shown at festivals of young filmmakers. His first notable success was Abdullajon, or Dedicated to Steven Spielberg (1991), which received the Golden Griffin prize as the best Uzbek film.
In the 1990s and 2000s Musakov made The Bomb, The Little Healer, Mommy and the series Ayol zoti. Among his best-known films are Boys in the Sky (2002) and its 2003 sequel. Vatan (2006) was among the nominees for best Asian film at a festival in Malaysia, and Lead (2011) won a best-screenplay prize at Russia's Kinoshok festival.
In later years he made Novda, Xazonrezgi, Dadam betob, Berlin — Akkurgan (2018) and Case History (2021), and also made the third part of Boys in the Sky. Since 2016 he has been artistic director of the FOCUS School of Directing in Tashkent. In 2026 a trailer was released for his film about Fayzulla Khodjaev.
On 25 August 2006 Musakov was given the title Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan and he also holds the Mehnat Shuhrati Order; in 2023 he received the Fidokorona Xizmatlari Uchun Order, and in 2026 the El-Yurt Hurmati Order.
Education
- Ostrovsky Tashkent State Theatre and Art InstituteUniversity · Tashkent · 1981 · Directing facultynow State Institute of Arts and Culture of Uzbekistan
- Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors of the USSR State Committee for CinematographyOther · 1989 · Directing faculty
Career
- Uzbekfilm studioStaff director · Tashkent · present
- FOCUS School of Directing (Tashkent)Artistic director · Tashkent · 2016–…Everyone who held this post →
Awards
Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan2006 · Uzbekistan
Order «El-yurt hurmati»2026 · Uzbekistan
Order «For Selfless Service»2023 · Uzbekistan
Order of Labor GloryUzbekistan
Life path
- 1958Birth
Born in Tashkent.
- 1981Theatre and Art Institute
Graduated from the directing faculty of the Ostrovsky Tashkent Theatre and Art Institute.
- 1983Judgement Day
One of his first films.
- 1989Courses in Moscow
Finished the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors of the USSR State Committee for Cinematography; A Soldier's Tale came out the same year.
- 1991Abdullajon
The film received the Golden Griffin prize as the best Uzbek film.
- 2002Boys in the Sky
One of his best-known films; a sequel followed in 2003.
- 2006Vatan and the title of Honoured Art Worker
Vatan was released; on 25 August he received the honorary title Honoured Art Worker of Uzbekistan.
- 2011Lead
Won the best-screenplay prize at the Kinoshok festival.
- 2016FOCUS School of Directing
Became artistic director of the FOCUS School of Directing in Tashkent.
- 2018Berlin — Akkurgan
A film about the tragedies of two world wars and revolutions.
- 2023Fidokorona Xizmatlari Uchun Order
Honoured by presidential decree as a staff director of Uzbekfilm.
- 2026El-Yurt Hurmati Order
Honoured by the decree of 28 May among workers of culture and the arts.