Just as Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine, so too is Crimean Tatar cinema an integral part of Ukrainian cinema. However, it's important to distinguish between authentic Crimean Tatar cinema created by the Qırımtatarlar themselves, “from within,” and cinema that merely focuses on Crimean Tatar themes… But right now, we’re not going to delve into those nuances — instead, we’ll talk about when and how Crimean Tatars and Tatar Crimea have been portrayed in Ukrainian cinema.

The first such film was created back in the 1920s — during a time when, amid a temporary easing of ideological censorship, Ukrainian cinema was experiencing a renaissance, with films being released one after another — including those that explored various ethnic and cultural worlds. At that time, Crimea was not part of the Ukrainian republic, but the historical and cultural ties between the regions were not denied by anyone. In any case, it is telling that one of the very first films on a Crimean Tatar theme — and one created with the active participation of the Qırımtatarlar themselves — was produced precisely in Ukraine. This was Alim, directed by Heorhii Tasin in 1926. The screenplay was co-written by Crimean Tatar writer and theater figure Umer Ipchi (together with Mykola Bazhan). The leading roles were played by the famous actor and dancer, the first People's Artist of the Crimean ASSR, Khayri Emir-zade, and his wife Asiye Emir-zade. The plot was based on legends about the eponymous "noble bandit," which had already been immortalized in pre-revolutionary literature and cinema. In line with the ideological demands of the time, the story was presented through a Marxist lens: Alim the aidamak (rebel outlaw) is portrayed as a kind of Crimean Tatar proletarian who rises in an uneven struggle against an unjust social system. Nevertheless, one can also trace subtle hints of anti-colonialism — since, among other things, the protagonist also battles the imperial bureaucratic apparatus. The magazine Kino, a key chronicle of the cinematic world at the time, praised the film, particularly for avoiding the pitfall of “exoticizing” its material. It even noted that “Crimea recognized it as ‘its first national film.’”¹.

           In 1937, the film was “repressed” in the finest Soviet tradition — that is, it was banned — and the Crimean Tatars disappeared from screens for a long time. Directly, of course, the path to the screen would later be completely closed to the Qırımtatarlar by Stalin’s accusation of “treason” and their subsequent deportation. That said, it’s worth noting that despite all its declared internationalism, the Soviet system was extremely reluctant to show its own “small nations” — the peoples it had absorbed — on screen, especially those swallowed up by Russia.

           Crimean Tatar themes would fully re-emerge on screen only in the 21st century. In 2004, “Tatar Triptych“, directed by Oleksandr Muratov, was released. Although the director had Crimean Tatar roots (his ancestors, affluent Qırımtatarlar, had been exiled to the Poltava region in the mid-19th century), the film’s perspective is difficult to describe as authentically Crimean Tatar. It was based on novellas from Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky’s “Tatar cycle” (“In the Shackles of the Devil“, “On the Rock“, and “Under the Minarets“), and the plots are fairly melodramatic, with a cultural and social undercurrent: the heroines struggle for love while facing traditional and religious constraints. The Qırımtatar community received the film — and especially its portrayal of the traditional and religious life of their ancestors — with mixed feelings; during the premiere, some viewers even walked out of the theater.²On the other hand, the film deserves recognition as the first to be shot in the Crimean Tatar language — and notably, it focused on women's stories. The cast included Crimean Tatar actors such as Akhtem Seitablaiev, Elzara Batalova, Dilyaver Settarov, and Semtabla Memetov. The director recreated a colorful, visually appealing, though somewhat exoticized, world of Crimea as seen through the lens of the Qırımtatarlar.

           One of the actors in “Tatar Triptych“, Akhtem Seitablaiev, would, in less than a decade, open an entirely new path for Crimean Tatar cinema. First and foremost, the perspective of the film shifts: this is now a view of the Crimean Tatar world from the inside, informed by a deep knowledge and understanding of its history and culture. Accordingly, the themes of the cinema also change — now tackling issues that genuinely matter to the Qırımtatarlar themselves, with the central one being their historical trauma: the deportation.

           In 2013, “Haytarma“ was released — the first feature film to directly address the topic of the deportation. Akhtem Seitablaiev not only directed the film but also played the lead role — that of the legendary Amet-Khan Sultan, a Hero of the Soviet Union and a real historical figure. Through this focal character, the film reveals and highlights another tragic dimension of the deportation: a man celebrated and embraced by the Soviet system is nonetheless powerless to influence it. Amet-Khan becomes a witness to the deportation and is unable to protect his own family. The film explores, to a certain extent, the conflict between two identities — Soviet and Crimean Tatar — a tension embodied in the character himself. This duality is also reflected on the linguistic level: the film was shot in both Russian and Crimean Tatar. Haytarma was created for the Crimean Tatar TV channel ATR, funded by its owner, businessman Lenur Islyamov. Members of the community were deeply involved in the production — many provided family heirlooms and jewelry for the film. The film became a landmark — not only as the first truly Crimean Tatar feature film, but also as a direct challenge to Russian-Soviet narratives.

           Four years later, Seitablaiev would intertwine the theme of deportation with that of the Holocaust in “Another’s Prayer“ (“Chuzha molytva“). At the heart of the story is another historical figure — Saide Arifova, a teacher and caretaker at a Bakhchysarai orphanage, who during the Nazi occupation saved dozens of Jewish children by passing them off as Qırımtatarlar. During the Soviet deportation, she saved them a second time by revealing their true ethnicity to the authorities. The film was produced while Crimea was under occupation, which gave the story an added layer of urgency and contemporary resonance.

           As we can see, all previous films focused on the past, while the present-day life of the Qırımtatarlar remained largely out of view — until the emergence of a new generation of directors.

           Nariman Aliev, born and raised in Ukrainian Crimea, created a cinema rooted in contemporary Crimean Tatar experience and addressed issues relevant to the Qırımtatar community. Even during his student years, he shot three short films that formed the “Crimean Stories“ trilogy. “Return with the Dawn“ (2013) tells the story of a young man who leaves his native village, seeing no future there, and a father who is forced to let him go. “I Love You“ (2014) explores the doomed romance between a young Crimean Tatar man and a Slavic girl: the protagonist’s father is strongly opposed to their relationship, as interethnic marriages are seen as a direct threat to a numerically small ethnic community. “Without You“ (2015) centers on a memorial gathering for a fallen brother. These films are deeply personal — not only in their engagement with weighty issues such as preserving national identity (“Without You“) or their intersections with the director’s own biography (like the protagonist of “Return with the Dawn“, Aliev left his village to study in a big city; like the characters in “Without You“, he experienced personal loss). In a way, especially his early works are a family affair: shot in familiar locations, starring his relatives. Much like “Haytarma“, this is cinema created with the direct involvement and support of the community.

           Finally, a true artistic milestone was the 2019 film “Home“ (“Evge“), Nariman Aliev’s feature-length debut. Among films on Crimean Tatar themes, it became the most successful: its world premiere took place at Cannes, it was Ukraine’s national submission for the Oscars, and it won numerous awards at international film festivals. The film deals with contemporary Crimea during wartime, focusing on the Qırımtatarlar who have been separated from their homeland. Although its themes are modern, the intersections with history are clearly present here as well. In a key role, the father was played by Akhtem Seitablaiev, while the son was portrayed by Remzi Bilyalov, a relative of the director. The immediate plot— a father and son transporting the body of their deceased son and brother back home for burial in occupied Crimea — also brings up several other pressing issues: the aforementioned challenges of preserving national identity, especially through education and interethnic marriages; relations with the Ukrainian population; and life caught between the occupied homeland and the mainland, among others.

           Notably, the director ultimately chose to address the theme of deportation as well: “Deportation was the leitmotif of what we grew up with.”³— he said. Shortly before the full-scale Russian invasion, Aliev began production on a film titled “Ortalan“. This too is deeply personal: “Ortalan is the name of the village from which my grandmother, Gulsum, was deported in 1944; it holds special meaning for me,” the director explained. “There is no Crimean Tatar family that wasn’t affected by this tragedy. My task is to tell the story of the tragedy of an entire people, who vanished from their homeland in a single day, through the story of one boy.”⁴The story is centered on a Crimean Tatar teenager who, in May 1944, returns from the mountains to his village, only to find it deserted. He then sets out to search for his family. Unfortunately, production on the project was interrupted by the war, and its future remains uncertain.

           The same applies today to Crimean Tatar cinema. In times of war, it finds itself among topics that are “important, but not timely.” Many Crimean Tatar directors have either joined the military or taken a creative pause. When will we see the Qırımtatarlar on screen again? That remains unknown. But this theme will return to cinema, inevitably. The only question is—when and how exactly.

¹                Люди екрану // Кіно. Журнал української кінематографії. – 1927. – №3. – С. 6.

²               Едіе Чарухова. Премьера «Татарского триптиха» закончилась скандалом. Газета «Полуостров», № 19 (121), 13-19. 05. 2005. https://www.agatov.com/old/national%20of%20Crimea/2005/may/peninsula-19_1.htm

³               Nariman Aliev: “I’m not afraid to start life from scratch.” The director on the possibilities of cinema and Ukrainian identity. Розмовляли Анастасія Левкова, Данило Павлов. 27.05.2022. https://theukrainians.org/nariman-aliiev/

⁴               Nariman Aliev’s film project *Ortalan* received an award at the pitching event in Cottbus. 6.11.2021. https://detector.media/production/article/193571/2021-11-06-proiekt-filmu-narimana-aliieva-ortalan-otrymav-nagorodu-na-pitchyngu-v-kotbusi/