An amnesiac old man Zarlyk who after twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land, returns to his homeland. Events take place in a village in Kyrgyzstan, where he is brought by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to consume... Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, went into religion, married the local authority Jaichy. The bright past invades the already accustomed Umsunai’s life. But nothing touches Zarlyk. An inexplicable passion for collecting garbage replaced him everything. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain lost happiness when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?
Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyz: Актан Арым Кубат; born March 26, 1957, Sokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan), also known as Aktan Abdykalykov, is a Kyrgyzstani director, screenwriter and actor. Member of the National Film Academy of the Kyrgyzstan, acting Member of the European Film Academy, acting Member of Asia Pacific Screen Academy. In 2016, Aktan Arym Kubat was recognized as one of the best directors in Asia, and Beshkempir/The Adopted Son entered the top 100 Asian films of all time, released by the Busan International Film Festival, which conducted a survey among 73 prominent film professionals, film critics, festival executives, programmers and directors. Best known for the films Beshkempir/The Adopted Son (1998), Maimyl/The Chimp (2001), The Light Thief (2010), Centaur (2017). Aktan Arym Kubat has received many industry awards, including Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the FIPRESCI Prizes from International Federation of Film Critics, he was a participant of Un Certain Regard and Lа Quinzaine des Realisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival, Panorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival and other festivals.