FUTURE NOW – Central Asia

‘FUTURE NOW - Central Asia’ is a music and film festival in November that aims to present various artistic perspectives from these five countries to a German audience.

Young musicians from Germany and the five Central Asian countries will come together in an academy lasting several days.

They will present their respective national contributions, listen to each other and compose the transitions between the national musical contributions as a collective. Using traditional and classical instruments, they create a link to contemporary music.

The German-Central Asian concert will premiere at the festival opening on 12 November in the Philharmonie Berlin (Chamber Music Hall).

The concert will be followed by five feature films on 13 and 14 November and 18, 19 and 20 November at delphi LUX (Yorck Cinemas), which will make traditions and cultural practices accessible to Berlin audiences through the lens of young Central Asian filmmakers. Tickets for all events go on sale on 7 October.

In the musical part of the festival, young musicians from the five Central Asian states and Germany will explore the question of how natural elements such as wood, air, fire, earth, metal and water sound from their national perspective, compose and combine the individual contributions and present the results at the opening concert of FUTURE NOW on 12 November in the Berlin Philharmonie (Chamber Music Hall).

A central component of FUTURE NOW is the musical academy, in which the young musicians can rely on the expert support of Mathias Hinke, composer and music mediator, who has also been part of the artistic management duo of the Young Euro Classic youth orchestra festival since 2024. Six trios - one from each Central Asian state and one from Germany - will come together to work on the transitions between traditional and contemporary works from their home countries. The Kazakh musical tradition of Kuy, contemporary works by young Tajik composers, the sounds of Kyrgyz national instruments and other surprising elements merge into an impressive musical whole. Cultural idiosyncrasies and subtleties are revealed and serve as a basis for a broader exchange across music.

A series of feature films from the participating Central Asian countries provides an insight into current social issues. All films deal with the relationship between past, present and future. The film screenings will be accompanied by short discussion rounds with representatives of the films and young German filmmakers.

Films as original versions with English subtitles

20:00, Berlin Philharmonie (Chamber Music Hall)

Concert with six trios from Central Asia and Germany, presenting traditional and contemporary works as well as their own compositions.

20:00, delphi LUX

Bauryna Salu (2023, Kazakhstan), directed by Askhat Kuchinchirekov. Followed by a discussion with filmmakers.

20:00, delphi LUX

Istarin Inslisce (2022, Turkmenistan), directed by Arslan Eyeberdiyew. Talk with one of the film's actors as part of the event.

20:00, delphi LUX

Shambala (2021, Kyrgyzstan), directed by Artykpai Suyundukov. Followed by a discussion with filmmakers.

20:00, delphi LUX

Fortune (2022, Tajikistan), directed by Muhiddin Muzaffar. Followed by a discussion with the director.

20:00, delphi LUX

Sunday (2023, Uzbekistan), directed by Shokir Kholikov. Followed by a discussion with the main actor Abdurakhman Yusuvaliyev.

Berliner Philharmonie: Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin

delphi LUX: Kantstraße 10 / Yva-Bogen, 10623 Berlin