Working title:
Geldy and the Finnish Ambassador’s Parrot‡.
(The trials and tribulations of Geldy Kyarizov and the Akhal-Teke)
Logline:
Renowned Akhal-Teke horseman and breeder in Prague, retraces a life devoted to a near mythic breed. Threading genetics, geopolitics and one very diplomatic parrot, while deciding what legacy to leave the next generation.
Tagline:
Geldy Kyarizov, a celestial horse and the Finnish Ambassador’s parrot.
Format:
60 minute documentary. (Languages: English | Türkmen | Russian | Finnish | Mandarin)
Director|Producer:
Garry Rigby (with Gill Suttle as advisor|fixer, Russian speaker, horse breeder and author).
Status:
Development. Primary access indicated in Prague, London, Southampton, Moscow, Stavropol and Herefordshire.
Synopsis:
In Prague, horse breeder and cultural figure Geldy Kyarizov reflects on a life shaped by the luminous Akhal-Teke. Through intimate interviews with his wife, geneticist Xinyue Shao, Russian breeders Leonid Babaev and Aleksandr Klimuk, photographer Artur Baboev, and UK breeder and author Gill Suttle, the film braids personal memory with science, archive and a mischievous motif – the Finnish Ambassador’s parrot, to explore beauty, obsession and the fragile threads of heritage that bind people to animals and to home.
NB. Waiting on confirmation from Shao, Babaev, Klimuk, Baboev and the Finnish Ambassador.
Archival footage:
K. Annanov (1989) ID: 32591. Ashgabat to Moscow 1935 and 1988 ID:?- State Archive of the Russian Federation.
Additional:
www.geldykyarizov.com (Designed by Rigby)
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geldy_Kyarizov (Submitted by Rigby)
Instagram
Resume • Garry Rigby | www.hardy.global | www.garryrigby.com
Budget:
***
Distribution:
***
Geldy Kyarizov FRS.
Born 1951, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, is an internationally renowned breeder of Akhal-Teke horses and former Horse Minister for the Government of Turkmenistan (Government Association Turkmen Atlary).
In 2002, Kyarizov was arrested by the adminstration of Saparmurat Niyazov on charges including abuse of office and negligence; a trial recognised by the international community as groundless and politically motivated. Kyarizov was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Released in 2007, Kyarizov left Turkmenistan in 2015 and now resides in exile, in Prague, Czech Republic†.
In 1988, Kyarizov rode an Akhal-Teke from Ashgabat to Moscow, a distance of over 4,000 kilometers (including 370 km of the arid Karakum desert) in two months, 24 days less than the previous record, set in 1935. In both circumstances, the aim was to alert the Soviet authorities to the breed’s decline and demonstrate its exceptional endurance*.
The Finnish Ambassador’s Parrot.
In 1993, Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov, gifted UK Prime Minister John Major with an Akhal-Teke called Maksat. A British diplomat from the Moscow embassy was despatched to arrange quarantine. After many hours delay, the diplomat pleaded with the receptionist on behalf of the “poor Turkmen horses”, who had been “standing up in a railway carriage for four and a half days”, eliciting in response… “the sad tale of the Finnish ambassador’s parrot”, whose fate was never, ever revealed**.
† “Turkmenistan: Further information”. Amnesty International. 28 January 2014.
* “Striding So Fast on Quivering Springs”. The Nation. 31 October 2024.
Suttle, Gill. (2010). Black Sands and Celestial Horses: Tracks Over Turkestan. Scimitar Press. ISBN 978-0953453627.
** “Papers reveal saga of horse given to John Major by Turkmenistan”. The Guardian. 28 December 2018.
“John Major’s gift horse”. BBC. 21 September 2012.
‡ Note on film title: (a) Western audience will find difficulty in pronouncing Kyarizov. (b) The title is intriguing. (c) This is an historical reference relating to the UK and mainland Europe. (d) Adds another dimension to what is a serious subject.
§ Translated languages: Geldy is Türkmen; major breeders and studbook in Russian Federation; most recent research from China; France have large Akhal-Teke community; the parrot is Finnish; Arab world have significant equestrian culture.
†† www.andrei-tarkovsky.com
Andrei Tarkovsky†† (Visual aesthetic|tone).
The films of Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) explore spiritual and metaphysical themes, dreamlike visual imagery and preoccupation with nature, memory and childhood. Tarkovsky stated that the horse symbolizes life, acting as a potent symbol of hope and vitality in his films.
Film clip: Andrei Rublev (Андрей Рублёв) 1966.
Renowned for their speed and endurance, the Akhal-Teke is one of the oldest and rarest of horse breeds. ‘Tianma’ – heavenly horse in Chinese. ‘Argamak’, divine and sacred for the Rus. And for the Türkmen, a way of life and national emblem.
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