The first documentary to be produced in Turkmenistan itself was Provozglashenie Turkmenskoi SSR (Proclamation of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic) in 1925, by Sergei Lebedev and Boris Bashem, two Russian cameramen from the Sevzapkino film studio in Leningrad.
[1][a] Their exhibitions were often accompanied by educational lectures on the themes and Swetlana Slapke, former cultural historian at the Humboldt University deems the productions to have been uniformly characterized by "propaganda and ideological tendentiousness".
[1] In 1930, the first feature film Zemlya Zhazhdet (The Earth is Thirsty) was produced by Yuli Raizman; it was about five Komsomol enthusiasts fertilizing the desert scapes amidst all adversities and bringing in a communist transformation.
[4][2] In the 1930s, numerous local director and cameramen - Vladimir Lavrov, Djavanshir Mamedov, Nikolai Mikhailovich Kopysov, Djuma Nepesov and Shadurdy Annaev - joined the studio.
[1][2][c] The Turkmen cinema industry virtually ceased to exist months later, when the Turkmenfilm building was destroyed in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake; among the casualties were numerous film artists.
[1] Coming from a background of popular theater and having made a name for himself as an actor reflecting national spirits, he co-produced the first colour film Extraordinary Mission in 1957 with Ivanov-Barkov about the exploits of a state-agent during the Russian Civil War.
[1] In 1961, the Central Committee of the Turkmen Communist Party issued a decree titled “On Major Insufficiencies in the Work of Turkmenfilm” which led to more people joining the cinema industry.
[1][d][5] Deriving from Nurmurat Sarykhanov's novel Shukur-Bakhshi about a musician who travels to enemy territory to champion peace, Mansurov tackled the perpetual duel between good and evil and the need of state to wield power over subjects.
[1][5] Aman Khandurdyev and Khodjan Ovezgelenov who played the lead roles were amateurs but pulled off highly convincing and impressive performances; Nury Halmammedov's tragic score has since become a classic and Khodzhakuli Narliev (though, of Soviet descent) made his name as a cameraman.
[1] Peter Rollberg, Professor of Slavic Languages and Film Studies at George Washington University however deems the former to have had introduced a "daring visual style" and notes that critics hold the latter to be his best work.
[2] In 1965, Karliev directed The Decisive Step based on Berdi Kerbabayev's work about a young Turkmen labourer searching for love and justice during the tectonic shifts in historical consciousness happening across the aftermath of October Revolution and Civil War.
[1][6][2][7] A student of Boris Volchek and already an acclaimed cameraman, his first directorial venture was Man Overboard (1969) about the moral conflict of a fisherman who failed to save his friend from the seas; Slapke found it to be a sincere and impressive debut.
[2] Both the films were an antithesis to the atypical traditionalist themes found in his works in that he rejected blind allegiance to traditions; the former was dedicated to Ene Kuliyeva, the head of the first Women’s Section (Zhenotdel) of Soviet Turkmenistan.
[1][2] In 1980, Narliev directed Jamal’s Tree (Aimedova wrote the script) in what Slapke deems as his ode to all Turkmen mothers, it portrayed the sacrifices of a lady in her continued abidance by traditional structures even at times when they were of no particular use and thus being the custodian of life.
[1] In 1982, Usman Saparov made his name as a children's film director, debuting with The Masculine Upbringing which had a highly successful run, and won him a USSR State Prize.
[1] Based on a narrative strand from The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years (1980) by Chinghiz Aitmatov (who suggested the screenplay), it drew from the Turkic legends of Mankurt, in depicting a non-traditional Turkman who fails to defend his homeland from invasion by Chinese troops.
[8] Seminars and workshops were held for Central Asian cinema artists, the film-studio was set to be expanded in the outskirts of Ashkabad (for reconstructing an aul) with grants from Moscow, and a new generation of directors — Shikhmurat Annamuratov, Sergei Shchugarev, Biulbiul Mamedov, Khalmamed Kakabaev, Kerim Annanov, Murat Aliev, Eduard Redzhepov, Bairam Abdullayev et al — were gradually taking over the legacy of Narliev.
[8][6][2] Saparov’s Little Angel, Make Me Happy (1992) narrated the tale of a boy who was left behind in a post-WWII purge of German villagers, and went on to receive the most prestigious award in the children’s category at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.
[4] However by the late 90s, Saparmurat Niyazov's (now, President) atavistic and totalitarian reign was at its peak, the country was increasingly isolationist, and all forms of art bearing no relationship to traditional folklore were censored.
[1] About a father who tries to stop his sons from infighting in order to establish a peaceful life before succumbing to failure, Niyazov sensed parallels with Mankurt and banned distribution.