THE NEW PLASTIC ROAD

Ο ΝΕΟΣ ΔΡΟΜΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΛΑΣΤΙΚΟΥ

By Angelos TSAOUSIS, Myrto PAPADOPOULOS

FILMOGRAFIK PRODUCTIONS - as PROD

Documentary - Completed 2020

Davlat is a Tajik merchandiser and a humble father of three children. A well respected businessman in the Pamir area, a mountainous region southeast of Tajikistan. His life has been transformed since the opening of the Tajik-Chinese border and the reconstruction of the old Silk Road.

Festivals
& Awards

BEYOND BORDERS - International Documentary Festival Castellorizo, Greece 2020
SEVASTOPOL INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL)CRIMEA 2020
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (online) 2021
Greek Docs
CLOSE UP Edinburgh DOCUFEST 2021
Hotdocs 2021
    • Year of production
    • 2020
    • Genres
    • Documentary, Social issues
    • Countries
    • GREECE, GERMANY, FRANCE
    • Languages
    • TAJIK
    • Budget
    • 0 - 0.3 M$
    • Duration
    • 66 mn
    • Director(s)
    • Angelos TSAOUSIS, Myrto PAPADOPOULOS
    • Writer(s)
    • Myrto PAPADOPOULOS, Angelos TSAOUSIS
    • Producer(s)
    • Angelos TSAOUSIS (FILMOGRAFIK PRODUCTIONS)
    • Synopsis
    • The New Plastic Road is a character-driven documentary film that reveals the gradual economic and social change underway in the remote, destitute communities within the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region east of Tajikistan in the Pamir Mountains. The catalyst of this change lies behind China’s decision to open its border with Tajikistan in 2004. This decision was followed by an ongoing attempt to resurrect the old Silk Road, connecting the region with the rest of the world for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union. This is part of the same network of roads that in ancient times contributed to the development of civilization (China, India, Persia, Arabia, Europe), affecting not just the local communities along the road but also the “global community” of the time. Today, part of this revitalized road network is affecting the global market, sparking an evolution of industry and commercial development – and to an extent our daily lives. To help us better understand these changes, the documentary follows Davlat, a Tajik merchandiser who lives in the mountainous town of Khorog (the Badakhshan capital in Southeastern Tajikistan) next to the Afghanistan border. As we are drawn into his world of work, family, and trade we come to understand that the (silk) road on which he depends to make a living is a unique character in itself, connecting him – and us – with people, stories, and a new hope for posterity.
      Davlat’s life is a significant example of how the development of the road network and commerce in the area has influenced several homes and communities, but also triggers our story to move forward and explore other similar examples along the road. As Till Mostowlasky has mentioned in his article Paving the Way: Ismaili Genealogy and Mobility along Tajikistan’s Pamir Highway, 2011: “While far from being a ‘highway’ in the strict sense of the term, the Pamirskii trakt (as it was officially known in the Soviet Union) is locally referred to as ’the road’…[and] has led to a fundamental reshaping of the region.” Davlat leads us to explore and interact with other stories along the road that signify this socioeconomic change. THE NEW PLASTIC ROAD is the guide and the storyline of our documentary, taking us into the unknown and remote terrain of Central Asia.