Wonders & Disasters: Nature, Architecture, and Colonialism in Central Asia

Each January, LSFF hosts ten days of short form, conversation and multidisciplinary curation. We present between 250-500 British and international films each edition, collaboratively programmed down from 5000+ open submissions, alongside Special Events and an industry offering of workshops, panels and discussion for filmmakers and workers.

London Short Film Festival

Experimental, collaboratively made shorts exploring the entanglement of nature, architecture, and colonialism in Central Asia.

Zoroastrian Centre

Central Asia is a landlocked region where local populations have long harnessed the sun, desert, and scarce water resources for survival. Under Soviet rule, it became a showcase of modernisation — a vanity project of the Soviet authorities aimed at conquering nature itself. The region still bears the marks of Soviet mismanagement and enduring Russian influence. Each experimental, collaboratively made short in this programme explores an architectural or natural phenomenon in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, linked to one of the classical elements: the Aralkum Desert (earth), the Baikonur Cosmodrome (air), the solar furnace at the Institute of the Sun (fire), and Lake Balkhash, now at risk of desiccation (water). Together, the films oscillate between awe and despair, prompting reflection on human-made disasters, environmental degradation, and climate change.Dreamtime, dir. Jane and Louise Wilson, UK 2001, 7 mins Aralkum, dir. Daniel Asadi Faezi and Mila Zhluktenko, Uzbekistan/Germany 2022, 14 mins This World Does Not Fit Into My Eyes, dir. Rouzbeh Akhbari and Felix Kalmenson, Uzbekistan/Canada 2023, 17 mins Balqaş Jyry, dir. Artcom Platform, Kazakhstan 2025, 19 minsContains racist attitudes and language.This programme is curated by Misha Zakharov.

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Wonders & Disasters: Nature, Architecture, and Colonialism in Central Asia

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Wonders & Disasters: Nature, Architecture, and Colonialism in Central Asia

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