The Uzbekfilm studio has fully repaid its tax debt, which exceeds 1 billion sum. Additionally, the company recovered 12 vehicles that were previously scheduled for auction due to this debt.
This was reported by Jakhongir Akhmedov, the First Deputy Minister of Culture and Director of the Cinema Agency, via his Telegram channel. The studio's next priority is settling outstanding obligations to employees, as Akhmedov stated that salary arrears exceed 3 billion sum. He assured that these obligations will also be settled.
Nevertheless, Uzbekfilm's largest financial problem remains a loan obligation of 22 million euros. The Cinema Agency, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, is working to release the film studio and a 10-hectare plot of land from collateral and resolve the issue of the unpaid loan.
Previously, Akhmedov estimated Uzbekfilm's loan obligation at 22.9 million euros and noted that the studio's assets, including land plots, were pledged as collateral. He identified preserving the studio and resolving the collateral issue as among his key current tasks.
In parallel, Uzbekfilm faces the challenge of transitioning to a more sustainable financial model. According to Akhmedov, the studio must fulfill orders worth at least 60 billion sum annually to ensure its independence. The Director of the Cinema Agency emphasized that the studio still relies on state orders and does not yet have a fully developed business model or established market mechanisms for its activities.
Akhmedov believes that further efforts should include not only saving Uzbekfilm but also conducting a deep reform of the studio. In the long term, it is expected that the studio will become a financially self-sufficient national film company with a modern management system capable of attracting private investment, developing international ties, and producing films independently. Akhmedov specifically noted that 'Uzbekfilm must become a symbol not of crisis, but of national cinema.'