Bashkir cinematography as a phenomenon of national Culture

The initial stages of the development of the history of cinema in Bashkiria can be traced long before the appearance of an official film studio here. It is believed that for the first time cinema as a phenomenon appeared in Ufa in 1897, literally two years after the first world public paid screening of a motion picture by the Lumiere brothers in the Parisian "Grand Cafe" ^{[13, p. 129]}. In this article we will analyze the main stages of the emergence and development of cinema in the region, as well as trace the trends that unite the development of cinema in the world and in Bashkortostan. The systematic method of research will help us in a multidimensional consideration of the phenomenon of cinema in Bashkortostan, as well as in determining trends in the development of Bashkir cinema as a phenomenon of national culture.

On July 7, 1897, an announcement appeared in the Ufa Bulletin of Announcements and Notices about the sale of devices "for demonstrating live photography and real Lumiere cinematographs" ^{[20, p.7]}. It can be assumed that at that time the purchase of such a device could not interest potential buyers, since no one could imagine the essence of cinema art at that time.

Cinema researchers notice that cinema at first did not represent any artistic interest. Moreover, as only a system reproducing motion, it was practically of no scientific interest ^{[5, p.20]}. And some, on the contrary, were frightened by cinema; and they urged people to abandon the new "villainous" invention ^{[16, p.106]}.

Nevertheless, similar announcements about a new technical invention did appear on the pages of provincial newspapers in those years. For example, the newspaper "Steppe Region" on January 9, 1897 informed Omsk residents that "the greatest discovery of the end of the XIX century, the invention of the famous American scientist-inventor Thomas Edison — a cinematography apparatus, live moving photography, will soon arrive in Omsk. The device transmits 15 live moving scenes in one second" ^{[9, p.5]}.

According to historians Radmir and Rashit Yangirov, a few years later, in 1902, posters with invitations to film screenings began to appear in Ufa. The ads carried the following information: "New and original! For the first time in Ufa! The latest sensational news from the exhibition in Chicago! Electromechanical theater daily on the Market Square!". Historians also indicate the surname of the entrepreneur who showed films in different cities of Russia – K. Shaposhnikov.

Gradually, cinema is gaining more and more popularity among the public who want to have fun. To attract viewers, a relatively rich repertoire of movie sketches is being introduced. In October 1904, three sessions of the so–called "American Bioscope" took place in the hall of the Ufa Noble Assembly (now the Ufa State Institute of Arts named after Zagir Ismagilov). As far as historians could judge from the advertisements, the film screening consisted of three sections with 64 numbers. Among them: "Scenes from the Russian-Japanese War", "The Fire of the theater in Chicago", the game extravaganza "Puss in Boots" and so on. Moreover, the duration of each piece lasted no more than a minute.

Many film theorists note its "carnival" character in the first decades of its appearance. For a long time, cinema was not perceived as equal to classical forms of art, but remained only an "area" entertainment. The second original function of cinema was a simple fixation of events ^{[12, p.718]}.

Major film theorists note the nature of the "farce" in early film productions. They were designed to entertain the people on the principle of fairground entertainment, which appeared in the early Middle Ages. Thus, researcher Mikhail Bakhtin identified the term "carnivalization" as the penetration of the traditions of medieval carnival into modern culture ^{[2, p. 611]}.

As in other countries, the prototype of the "feature film" in Russia was a farcical performance. The new spectacle, first of all, met the needs of a mass spectator-a citizen. "We often mourned that folk songs, epics, lamentations, conspiracies were dying out, that his choral, impersonal creativity was drying up among the people, but now it has arisen again, the same impersonal, nameless, the same cathedral and choral – and we can see it in the cinema with our own eyes. <...> Here cathedral creativity has been revived before us in new forms," wrote Korney Chukovsky at the dawn of cinema in his devastating article "Nat Pinkerton and Modern Literature" ^{[18, p. 34]}.

Due to the entertaining nature of the first films, there was a wide increase in films of frivolous content. It is worth emphasizing that since 1788, the Orenburg Mohammedan Spiritual Assembly has been located in Ufa – the first officially formalized association of Muslims in the Russian Empire. That is, Ufa remained the historical center of Islam for many years. But, nevertheless, even in this status, there were screenings of obscene content in the city. Historians Yangirovs write about this.  The Queen of Illusions "Mademoiselle Parnas" relied on the frivolous genre, showing the audience the films "The Unfaithful Wife", "Secrets of the Paris Opera", and a special part in the program was occupied by special sessions "for men" ^{[20, p. 8]}.

Historians note that such screenings were carried out without public publicity. But already in the winter of 1908, Ufa governor Alexander Stepanovich Klyucharev issued a special circular, which stated: "Recently, the owners of cinema theaters have been arranging various pornographic spectacles. In view of their anti-moral content, which adversely affects public morality, henceforth prohibit such sessions and prosecute their organizers in court" ^{[20, p. 9]}.

In the major cities of the country from 1904-1905, permanent "electric theaters" began to appear, and a system of mobile film screenings operated in the suburbs. It is believed that since the second half of the 1900s, film screenings have lost their novelty and initial attractiveness for citizens, becoming a familiar way of spending leisure time. At the same time, cinema remained an entertaining entertainment for the poor.

In 1908, stationary cinema halls began to form in Ufa. In May, Lukyanov's "General Electro-Biographer" opens, and soon – "Express" on Verkhnetorgovaya Square, "Furor" in the house opposite the Noble Assembly and "Effect" on the Central Street. And then their number increased. In the 1910s, 5-6 cinemas with a total capacity of about one and a half thousand seats functioned in the city. It is known that the number of "illusions" was growing all over the country: by 1909 there were already about 3,000 cinemas in Russia. There were about 150 of them in St. Petersburg. The small capacity of the halls was compensated by the capacity of repeated film screenings ^{[8, p. 15]}.

Gradually, cinema penetrated into remote rural corners of the republic. In the spring of 1911, a cinema hall was opened in the village of Topornino (now Kushnarenkovo), about the same time there were their own cinemas in Birsk – "Volcano" (then changed to "Progress"), and in Belebey. And at the beginning of 1915, the Ufa provincial zemstvo board acquired six mobile narrow-film film projectors of the KOK system for conducting special rural sessions ^{[20, p.10]}.

Some historians seriously believe that already in those years cinema became a means for propaganda. After all, in addition to entertaining plots in distant settlements, instructive films were shown to the illiterate population: in which, in addition to films about the sciences, plots of religious content were shown. They could have arisen with the aim of converting the predominantly Muslim Bashkir population to Orthodoxy ^{[20, p. 11]}.

The researchers also cite the reaction of society from the pages of Ufa newspapers of that time. According to them, entrepreneurs, in an effort to get the public to the cinemas, resorted to many tricks. The feuilletonist Raeder wrote in November 1915: "Ufa is the only provincial city in Russia in which there is no properly functioning theater… But we have the only cinematograph of its kind announcing the upcoming benefits of Max Linder, Napoleon Bonaparte and even William Shakespeare, a favorite of the local public… That way we will live to see the "benefit" of Julius Caesar, the benefit of the Dnieper rapids or the tropic of Capricorn! ^{[20, p. 12]}.

Russian Russian cinema masters' films are also presented to the Ufa audience – historical productions by V. Gardin and psychological dramas by E. Bauer, in which the stars of Russian silent films were engaged: V. Kholodnaya, V. Coralli, O. Frelich and others.

The already mentioned governor Alexander Klyucharev was thinking about building a "winter" theater in the city. The development of the project was entrusted to the provincial architect Pavel Rudavsky. He presented the future Aksakov Folk House of two facades. One was decorated in the "Renaissance" style and was located on the Central Street (now Lenin), and the other was in the "East Asian style, approaching the Moorish". The latter served as a tribute to the Bashkirs and Tatars who lived in the province. This fact is already indicative: when creating new cultural centers in Bashkiria, the national factor was already taken into account in those years.

By the end of the First World War, the theater part of the building was completed, it was handed over to merchant Karimov, to which the Yulduz cinema, recently opened in Ufa, moved. Now the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theaters are located in the building. 

"Yulduz" is a unique experience in the all-Russian practice. It was a "Muslim" cinema, the repertoire of which was a mixture of ethnographic sketches (about the life of Muslims in the East) and tapes about the shrines of Islam ^{[20, p. 12]}.

In April 1911, in the newspaper "Ufa Region", the owner of the cinema H.Karimov published an open letter in which he apologized to the Ufa residents for showing the French tape "In the Paradise of Mohammed". Obviously, the orthodox part of the townspeople took the tape critically.

The number of seats in the cinema was designed for 900 people. The convenient location in the very center of the city, the compliance of the repertoire with the demands of the national audience contributed to the success of such a cinema in the Ufa province.

By the beginning of 1917, the general decline in the activity of cinemas was reflected in the existence of "Yulduz". The repertoire of illusions was running out. The cinematographic crisis reached its peak during the revolution and the Civil War, the disruption of railway traffic actually put the owners of cinematographic theaters in a difficult position ^{[20, p. 15]}.

In March 1919, the Autonomous Bashkir Soviet Republic was formed – the first national entity within Russia. Shortly after the adoption of the decree on the nationalization of cinematography, a Photo-Cinema Section was formed at the Ufa Gubpolitprosvet.  Film screenings continued, including free ones – with an educational purpose. In 1921, Bashkiria experienced a serious drought and famine, and the normal operation of cinemas returned only by the following year. New cinemas continued to open, the former ones were reconstructed and renamed, for example, "Yulduz" - opened in 1924 under the name "Idel" ^{[20, p. 16]}.

With the establishment of the Soviet regime, film broadcasts were sent to remote villages of Bashkiria as an additional element accompanying the speeches of agitators, propagandists and lecturers. They made it possible to clearly demonstrate the problems that were raised for discussion at these agitation events.

By the beginning of 1925, there were 25 stationary cinema halls in the republic, 12 of them in cities, 3 in workers' settlements and 9 in district centers ^{[20, p. 18]}.

A significant step in the development of film production in the Soviet Union and the republics was the All-Union meeting on cinematography, held in Moscow in March 1928. Industrial enterprises were offered to accelerate the production of domestic equipment for filming and showing films. During the first five-year plan (1928-1932), the planned expansion of the cinema network in the republic began. During this period, the number of stationary and mobile film installations in Bashkiria increased 2.5 times.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the autonomy of Bashkiria, film workers have prepared a report on their successes. They testified that regular screening of films was established in all cities and 62 regional centers of the republic, sound stationary installations worked in 34 districts, and sound movers operated in 28 district centers.

Further progress in film production was suspended with the advent of the Great Patriotic War.

In addition to film distribution in the republic, the need for independent filming has been brewing for a long time. In 1909, the chronicle film "Views of the Urals" was shot. Its author was a member of the Russian Geographical Society V.L. Metenkov. It was he who was one of the first to start filming in the Urals ^{[19, p. 50]}.

It is known that in 1915 the filming of the chronicle video "The funeral of Mufti M.Sultanov in Ufa" took place in Ufa by order of the owners of the electric theater "Yulduz" ^{[20, p. 22]}.

In the same 1915, the film crew of director Vladimir Gardin decided to stop in picturesque Bashkiria on the way to Moscow. The reason for this was the fact that at the end of the 19th century Leo Tolstoy, inspired by the views of Bashkiria, published the story "How much does a person need land". It was planned to make a film based on this artistic material. But, unfortunately, the film was lost ^{[19, p. 51]}. The film was released in 1916.

Episodes of the Civil War were captured by the red chroniclers – in a tape called "On the way to Ufa". It is dedicated to the Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1919. The film depicts Chapaev with his Red Guards ^{[20, p. 24]}.

Legendary Soviet director and theorist Lev Kuleshov was once sent to the Eastern Front to shoot newsreels. In his notebook, he captured memories of what he saw in Ufa. "Shooting of the Ufa bridge. Burned by the whites. View of the burnt bridge from the side. Bridge security. View of the city of Ufa. Ferryboat. The bridge from the boat is larger. Panorama of the city and Ufa". Returning to the capital, Kuleshov presented the film "Ural (Kolchak Front)" ^{[20, p. 24]}.

Films made before the onset of the First World War are usually called "primitives" by film critics - because they are characterized by general plans shot from a single point. This is due to the limitation of the technical capabilities of the equipment and little experience in understanding the possibilities of cinema ^{[14, p.73]}.A similar trait is characteristic of pre-revolutionary cinema in Russia, and for films shot on the territory of Bashkiria.

After the revolution, not only rolling activities unfolded. By the 1930s, cinema had become a universal machine for the formation of ideologized images ^{[10, p.199]}.

In 1923, it was announced that the Photo-Cinema Section faces the task of strengthening cinematographic production throughout the republic. Film workers from the capital also provided all possible assistance in this. In 1923, a delegation from Goskino captured pictures of the activities of the Ural industry. In addition to factories and enterprises of neighboring regions, footage was also taken about the Beloretsk Nail Factory. Later, this material was also lost ^{[20, p. 25]}.

In subsequent years, independent filming began to develop in Bashkiria: for example, in 1925, at the May Day celebrations. The shooting is conducted by the head of the Photo Department, Comrade. Generozov.

In 1930, Nikolai Anoshchenko made a documentary film "The Soviet Fairy Tale (Red Bashkiria)". In the scenes, special attention was paid to portraits of ordinary workers.

In the process of working on the film, the director noted one everyday feature of Bashkir life, to which he decided to devote a separate tape. The short film "Bashkirka" was dedicated to the Bashkir horse, sung in Bashkir folklore. It was the national peculiarity that attracted the Soviet film director at that time and inspired the creation of a separate work.

Also in 1930 , Nicholas Anoshchenko presented a documentary film "On the border of Asia", which was dedicated to Bashkiria. At the same time, a note appeared in the newspaper Krasnaya Bashkiria that the republic "will become the scene of filming." (Yusupova). The main task was to show the current state and the near future of Bashkiria. The full-length documentary was widely shown throughout the country ^{[20, p. 30]}.

One of the most famous early films of the early film history of Bashkiria is the feature film "Salavat Yulaev" directed by Yakov Protazanov.

Historians claim that the first appeal to the image of Salavat was an unembodied script by P. Voevodin, one of the leaders of the Soviet film industry. The production of the film was transferred to Leningradkino, V. Gardin was approved for the position of director.

The theme of Salavat Yulaev was once again revived in the idea of making a movie based on the script by George Grebner. In October 1929, a special meeting was held in Ufa, where the script of the film was discussed and approved. In the spring of the following year, the film was included in the plan of the Yalta film factory "Vostokkino", but the plan was cut short again.

And only a decade later, Soviet director Yakov Protazanov began to embody this film. It is worth noting that a little earlier, in 1936, the image of Salavat Yulaev was embodied on the cinema screen by K. Mukhitdinov – in the film by Leningrad director P. Petrov-Bytov "Pugachev".

The film about the Bashkir hero was shot at the Moscow film studio Soyuzdetfilm (now the Gorky Film Studio). The actors of the Bashkir Academic Drama Theater were engaged in the roles. The surroundings of Ufa and the shores of Dema were chosen for full-scale filming.

The author of the script was the Soviet writer Stepan Zlobin. Around the same years, he published the novel "Salavat Yulaev". The film appeared on the screens in 1941 ^{[19, p. 52]}.

Independent chronicle filming began in Ufa in 1932 with the opening of the correspondent point of the Soyuzkinochronika trust. Bashkiria has repeatedly become the subject of newsreels; both in the pre-war period and during the Great Patriotic War. The main theme of newsreels during the war was the patriotism of home front workers, people's faith in the defeat of the enemy, their heroic work in the name of victory. It is known that during the war years newsreels were shown not only in cinemas, but also on the front line, at the front ^{[7, p.192]}. The author of Bashkir plots until 1943 was G. Amirov. Later, he joined the work of frontline operators on the frontline.

The post-war period of "malokartinya" extends throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. Historians note that this is explained not only by the post-war devastation and lack of funds, but also by the fact that productions in those years were entrusted exclusively to cinematographers "with a name", and the subject of films was subject to strict restrictions ^{[6, p.34]}.

In the mid-50s Bashkiria reappears on movie screens. The film-ballet "Crane Song" was staged at the Sverdlovsk Film Studio. It is believed that the decision to create the film was made after the Decade of Bashkir Literature and Art, held in Moscow in 1955 ^{[20, p. 35]}. The main roles in the film were performed by soloists of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater, and the author of the libretto was the legendary Bashkir choreographer Faizi Gaskarov, and the script was written by Soviet writer Anver Bikchentaev.

The plot of the film is based on the Bashkir folk legend about the love of the shepherdess Yumagul and the beauty Zaitungul. The film was released in 1959.

Almost 20 years later, the Sverdlovsk Film Studio will again turn to Bashkir literature. In 1978, a drama film based on the play of the same name by Mustai Karim "On the Night of the lunar eclipse" will be released. The director was Baras Khalzanov. The picture caused an ambiguous reaction from the public, as well as from the playwright himself. 

In 1968, following the events of the Civil War in Bashkiria, the film "Thunderstorm over Belaya" was filmed. But it was shot at the Lenfilm film studio by directors Eugene Nemchenko and Stanislav Chaplin. Full-scale shooting was carried out on Bashkir land. In the vicinity of Ufa, scenes of Red Army units crossing the Belaya River near the village of Krasny Yar and fighting with Kolchak units were shown ^{[20, p. 36]}.

In 1978-1983, on the territory of Bashkiria, the Mosfilm film studio conducted filming of the famous Soviet television films "The Eternal Call" and "Shadows Disappear at Noon" based on the novels of A.S. Ivanov.

At the end of the 1970s, there was again an appeal to Bashkir folklore - now from the Mosfilm film studio. By the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the picture "The Rider on the Golden Horse" directed by Vasily Zhuravlev, staged according to the plots of ancient Bashkir legends and fairy tales, saw the light. The screenwriter was Viktor Vitkovich. The picture was warmly received by viewers throughout the Union. Director V. Zhuravlev was awarded the Republican prize named after S. Yulaev for the high artistic merits of the film ^{[20, p. 38]}.

Thus, three Soviet film studios – Mosfilm, Lenfilm and Sverdlovsk film studios turned to Bashkir themes. Ambiguous films appeared: some corresponded to the spirit of the people, and were widely accepted by the public; others noted, according to contemporaries, "insufficient knowledge of the national Bashkir flavor" ^{[20, p. 36]}. The documentaries of the post-war years were already distinguished by a greater variety of topics than in previous years. In 1948, the staff of the Kuibyshev Film Studio made a full-length film "Soviet Bashkiria" (directed by V. Dalsky). The picture showed the achievements of the workers of the republic.

In the 1980s, there was an increase in film and photography in the USSR. In the second half of the decade, the center of exhibition activity shifted from the capital to the Volga region and the Urals. One of the most high-profile amateur associations was the Ufa film and photography club "Agidel", organized in 1976. 10 years later, he was awarded the diploma of the VDNH of the USSR for his achievements in the field of photography ^{[1, p.152]}. Today, the photo club "Agidel" continues to function at the Republican Center of Folk Art.

In the early 1950s, the filming of a large-scale series of documentaries entitled "Cinema Atlas of the USSR" began. Among them was a color painting "Soviet Bashkiria" (scenes – A. Bikchentaev, dir. - S. Solovyov and I. Shapiro).

A large number of documentaries arose in connection with the development of the oil industry in Bashkiria. Among them – "Oilmen of Bashkiria" (1952, directed by D.Dalsky), "Steppe Batyr" (1960, directed by N. Savateev), etc.

The 1960s-70s are characterized by a number of portrait film sketches dedicated to prominent natives of Bashkiria. For example, about the writer and playwright Mustai Karim, about the pilot Musa Gareev, about the sculptor Soslanbek Tavasiev, motorcycle racer Gabdrakhman Kadyrov, etc.

The work of the Ufa Television Studio began in the spring of 1959. Before the appearance of the film studio, she took on the mission of producing film products. So, since 1963, plans for the release of TV movies have been implemented. In 1965, a full-length documentary and journalistic tape "The Transformed Land" was released on the screens, dedicated to the stages of the formation of the republic. In the course of work on a large tape, several short films were shot "Bashkir Kumys" (directed by G. Kudashev), "Meridian of Big Chemistry" (directed by N. Tibeev).

Specific films showing the beauty of the native land were especially popular. For example, the film of the Ufa television studio "The Path of the Huntsman" (1965) and the full-length documentary "Bashkir Honey" (1965), authored by director-cameraman Azat Imanaev.

And one of the primary directions in the film production of Ufa television was the adaptation of the works of Bashkir authors. One example is the film "Bashkir Wedding" directed by Rais Ismagilov based on the play by Mukhametshi Burangulov. The play was based on Bashkir wedding ceremonies ^{[19, p. 54]}.

Amir Abdrazakov, a graduate of GITIS, was at the origins of the Bashkir film studio. His creative biography includes 26 films and 18 videos. Among them are "Akhmet-Zaki Walidi Togan", "Akmulla", "Song of my People", "Akmulla", "Wedding", "Ishmulla", "Wings of the Soul", "Zagir Ismagilov" and many others. The problems of his films always pursue one goal – to show the national and spiritual traditions of the Bashkirs, to awaken in the audience a keen interest in the history of his native land.

He was also one of the creators of the Bashkir first television series, for example, "Kinzya" (1994) and "Gold is collected in grains" (1970). He can also be called one of the pioneers of clip art, because he is the author of musical, plot mini-films based on Bashkir songs "Songs of My People" ^{[4, p.35]}.

By a special decision of the Government of May 25, 1990, the Bashkortostan film Studio was established in Ufa. Its first head was Amir Abdrazakov. The first work released at the film studio was Malik's documentary Yakshimbetova "The Gates of Freedom".

In 1994, animated films began to be produced at the studio.

In 2018, the film studio was named after A. Abdrazakov.

It is obvious that the path that cinema has taken in Bashkortostan at the initial stages is similar to the fate of cinema in other parts of the world. At first, it remained a purely "square" entertainment, not aimed at educational or other spiritually oriented tasks. It had a purely recreational function. In the first decades of the Soviet regime, cinema was subordinated to propaganda tasks, and especially in the republics. Author's cinema in the Soviet Union and around the world began to emerge around the 1950s ^{[3, p.238]}.

Igor Belenky wrote about cinema in the 1960s: "It was in this era that cinema turned from a mixture of under-art and industrial production into a full–fledged art form," implying by this the emergence of an artistic idea, an author's word in cinema - even if functioning within censorship restrictions ^{[3, p.241]}. The very concept of author's cinema arose a little earlier, in the 1950s - it was first used in the French magazine Les Cahiers du Cinema ^{[11, p.196]}.

Researchers note that even on the politicized soil of Soviet cinema in the 1960s, films of a new type began to break through - their authors put creativity at the forefront, not ideology ^{[3, p.273]}.

It was in the 1960s that Bashkir television appeared, and as we wrote above, this time is marked by the flourishing of independent filming in the republic. The trend showed the authors' appeal to a purely national theme. They wanted to show the beauty of their native land, to tell about the iconic personalities of their homeland. With the advent of a film studio, this process becomes even more obvious.

Today, Bashkiria produces films in different genres: documentaries, feature films, animation. Professional cinema is gaining special strength. It has received a new heyday since 2016, declared the Year of Russian Cinema in our country.

In the republic, projects are being created that are becoming famous not only at the regional level, but also at the national and international level.

Among the bright directors of the last few years, it is worth highlighting some of them. This is Ainur Askarov, a graduate of the St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television and the Academy of Cinematographic and Theatrical Arts of N.S. Mikhalkov. His bright short films opened the way for a large meter, which was released in Russian rental. Among his works: "Enmesh" ("Persistent") "Bitter honey", "Let the wind carry away my words", "From Ufa with love!", "Taganok Squad" and "Family of the Year".

Bulat Yusupov, a graduate of VGIK, is most famous for his outstanding films about the history of Bashkortostan. His creative biography includes such projects as: "Visit", "Babich", "The First Republic", "Glass Passenger", "Long, long Childhood" and others. The short film "Visit" is dedicated to the history of the legendary dancer and choreographer, a native of Ufa Rudolf Nureyev. The feature films "Babich" and "The First Republic" reveal the problems of the first Soviet years in Bashkiria, and also tell about the fate of many famous personalities of that period. "A Long, Long Childhood" is a film adaptation of the story of the same name by the Bashkir prose writer Mustai Karim.

But it is important to emphasize that the films they have shot over the past 6 years were released with the joint production of the film studio and the studios of the directors: "Yusupov's Live Tape" and Askarov's "Askar-film". Other Bashkir directors who do not have their own private film studios are forced to shoot only short films on the basis of the Bashkortostan film Studio ^{[15, p.44]}.

Another graduate of VGIK Aisyuak Yumagulov is known in the republic, thanks to his films "The Wind Catcher" and "Etegen". The full–length film "The Windcatcher" makes us talk about eternal family values - in contrast to the Bashkir village and the capital. And the short film "Etegen" is the author's interpretation of the Bashkir legend about seven girls.

Thus, cinema appeared in Ufa almost immediately after its birth in France in 1895. Bashkiria has come a long way from a simple consumer of an "entertaining" film to a producer of complex and notable films – not only regionally, but also internationally. For example, Ainur Askarov's film "Taganok Squad" based on the story of Mustai Karim was recognized as the best children's film at the 19th Dhaka International Film Festival. And Alexander Galibin's film "Little Sister", shot in Bashkortostan based on the story of Mustai Karim "A Long, long Childhood", became the best among youth films at the X International Film Festival of Children's Films "Vittorio Veneto" in Italy.

The national cinema is one of the tools for the formation of the identity of the people. According to experts, national identity is characterized, first of all, by belonging to a place, a homeland; and also by recognition of the established cultural traditions of this community and this homeland ^{[11, p.472]}.

It should be added that since 2014, the International Film Festival of National and Ethnic Cinema "Silver Akbuzat" has been held in Ufa. To this day, 4 successful festivals have been held ^{[17, p.199]}.

Today, the cinema in Bashkortostan is focused on the residents of the republic, but the directors are already trying to find a way out to the mass Russian audience. It is obvious that the first steps in this field are being taken by director Ainur Askarov. His film "Family of the Year" was released in Russia at the end of 2021. Its plot is practically abstracted from the realities of the native land; only a few details allow us to see the imprint of the national code in the film (such as, for example, traditional Bashkir clothing on one of the main characters).

The film "Family of the Year" is built at the junction of several genres, which distinguishes it among the pictures shot in Bashkortostan. The director embodied in it both a road movie, and the pov genre (point of view), and melodrama, comedy and even social cinema (according to the author himself) ^[21]. However, the loss of national color "blurred" the film at the Russian box office, depriving it of the identification that would allow it to stand out advantageously against the background of Russian paintings.

We can say that today the film process in Bashkortostan is completely focused on Bashkir themes. The problems of Bashkir cinema are devoted to the themes of national heritage, wealth and beauty of the native land. It is also largely based on the works of Bashkir prose writers and playwrights. On Bashkir soil, cinema has passed an independent path from the "areal" entertainment at the beginning and an instrument of Soviet propaganda, to modern cinema dedicated to the problems of the small motherland. Bashkir cinema relies on folk folklore, glorifies the beauty of the native language and nature, reveals the problems of "eternal" themes through the prism of Bashkir realities.