We are happy to announce that the film 12/35 by Matlab Mukhtarov, commissioned by Chai Khana, was awarded the best local short documentary prize at the DokuBaku International Film Festival 2022. We wish Matlab every success in his future endeavors!

The film explores the lives of those men and the memories of those left behind: the childhoods they shared and the choices they made. These men, now in their 60s, reflect on what has happened to their generation, why most of their friends and relatives died so young and how this particular apartment block captures the story of a whole generation. The voices and lives of the departed are included in clips from amateur videos from the 1990s. Set against the background of old friends’ attempt to understand their deaths, this film is about nostalgia and how memories kindle a special kind of love for home.