The Board of UAFMA is composed of dedicated professionals, independent filmmakers, educators, and cultural workers who share a passion for promoting independent cinema in Uzbekistan and beyond. Together, they guide the vision and growth of our association.
Alexey Ulko
Chairman of UAFMA
Consultant on contemporary art, researcher and filmmaker from Samarkand. He has a diverse range of interests, including postcolonial studies, contemporary Central Asian art, new metaphysics, and esotericism. He graduated from Samarkand State University in 1991 and obtained his master’s degree from the University of Exeter in 2001. In recent years, he has authored or contributed to several books, including ἀγάπη (2021), Censoring Art (2018), and Culture Smart! Uzbekistan (2017). He conducted research for the award-winning exhibition We Treasure Our Lucid Dreams (2020) at Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. He has co-curated several exhibitions, artistic, musical and educational projects in Central Asia, written over 50 articles and made more than 20 experimental films. From 2024, the deputy chairman of the Uzbekistan Amateur Film Makers’ Association. He is a member of the Association for Art History, the European Society for Central Asian Studies, and the Central Eurasian Studies Society.
Antonina Kadirova
General Secretary of UAFMA
Since 2012, Antonina has been building a career in event organization. Her professional experience spans teaching, sales management, and the implementation of large-scale cultural and business projects. A notable achievement in her career was co-organizing and serving as the financial director of the Contemporary Art Festival „48 Hours Tashkent“ in 2021, an event that brought together over 60 projects and garnered significant public interest in contemporary art.
Currently, Antonina works as an Event Lead at IT Community, where she organizes regional events aimed at enhancing IT education for aspiring professionals. In this role, she contributes to the development and support of promising initiatives in the technology sector.
Lebedev Boris Pavlovich
Honorary Chairman of UAFMA
Lebedev Boris Pavlovich, born on April 8, 1949, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a distinguished figure in the fields of education and film. He graduated from the Tashkent Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages in 1975 and earlier from the Tashkent Aviation Technical School in 1969.
Starting his career in 1963, Boris Pavlovich worked as the supervisor of the production site at the Tashkent Excavator Plant. Between 1970 and 1975, he served as a director-operator at the corporate film laboratory of the Tashkent Chkalov Aviation Association while also leading the amateur film studio „Sirius“ at the same enterprise. From 1975 to 1985, he held the position of Director of the Young Technicians’ Club and concurrently served as the Director of the People’s Film Studio „Sirius.“ He has been the Director of the People’s Film Studio „Sirius“ since 1986 and the President of the Uzbekistan Amateur Film Makers’ Association since 1989. Although he officially retired in 2009, he continues to work and contribute to his field.