The star-studded event, which kicked off with sounds emanating from karnai and surnai national instruments, doled out awards for distinctive achievements in 2010 in the areas of TV and radio broadcasting, cinematography and music.

The ceremony started with saluting the winner of Best Radio Host of the Year, as though reflecting the way many people start their day from flipping on the radio and listening to the energetic chatter of their favorite radio host. The accolade went to Dilbar Okhunova of “Zamin” radio station. Her award gong was greeted with loud cheers from the audience and was followed by a scintillating dance by a “Michael Jackson” duo, Umid Mirzayev, a laureate of “Yangi avlod 2009” Children’s Creativity Festival, and Umid Ashurov, a four-time choreography champion of Uzbekistan, which they performed to the music of the King of Pop mixed with Uzbek national instruments.

Nilufar Satibaldiyeva (“Sport” TV channel) scooped the Best TV Host of the Year award. She received her trophy from the hands of the prominent Uzbek TV host Shakhnoza Ganiyeva under a stormy applause. Then followed the song “V yedinstve parya” (Flying in unity) with lyrics by Gulnara Karimova sung by Bakhtiyor Rakhmanov, who is a talented member of Kelajak ovozi (Voice of the future) Youth Initiative Center. The song was first performed at a Youth Forum on November 19 and became a hit with the youth, and was now sung before the country’s foremost culture and arts professionals. Clearly, for Bakhtiyor this was a starry debut to sing on the same stage with celebrated musicians.

The gong for Best TV Project Design went to “Top 10” (TVM Channel). The Best TV Project of the Year award was given to “Diydor shirin” (NTT Channel). The song “Qiynalar qalbim” (My soul is suffering) – performed by Lola and directed by Yodgor Nosirov – has become the Best Video Song of the Year. An emotional Nosirov, tears of joy on his face, said he was donating the award to Mehr Nuri Charitable Foundation.

Russian music group Gradusi’s barnstorming performance of their song “Rezhissyor” (Film director) opened the cinematography part of the awards ceremony. Up-and-coming actor Adiz Rajabov earned the Best Actor award, which he received from the hands of singer Nasiba Abdullayeva, a longtime favorite of Uzbeks. Prominent Uzbek artist Akmal Nur handed the Best Actress award to Dilnoza Kubayeva. This is her second M&TVA Best Actress award running.

The next in the string of music numbers of the ceremony was the song “Majnuntol” (Willow tree) performed by a duet composed of Farrukh Zakirov and DJ Piligrim. Zakirov’s deep romantic singing and the club rhythms of a leading DJ made for an extraordinary musical combination which left no one cold.

In the words of one cinematographer, “if a film is good, it is the actors who are praised; if a film turns out bad, it the director who is to blame”. In 2010, the best directors presented the best films. The results are as follows: the Best Film Director of the Year award went to Abduvokhid Ganiyev while Best Film of the Year was awarded to “Mukhabbatnoma” directed by Akbar Bekturdiyev, who held the M&TVA statuette high and said: “I’ve been in cinema for 35 years, and this is the first one”.

In what came a surprise to the audience, Russian musician Timati came on stage to perform “Ne skhodi s uma” (Don’t go crazy). Notwithstanding the title of the song, the funky-looking singer had delighted youths in the audience doing quite the opposite. Timati then read out the winner of Best Soundtrack of the Year and handed the award to its composer Batir Aliyev for the song he created for the film “Shomurod and Durdona”. The soundtrack is performed by Uzbek pop singer Jakhongir Poziljonov.

The M&TVA 2010 Awards Ceremony honored three men who emerged as winners of the Prize Quiz announced by the Fund Forum. Each of the lucky men is now a proud owner of a Matiz automobile, the prime prize. The ribbon-tied cars had been placed outside Turkistan Palace, the venue for the Awards Ceremony. The winners – Davron Yakubov from Tashkent (online version), Anvarjon Muminov, Ferghana region (phone version), and Marufbek Mirzayev from Samarkand (newspaper version) – received the keys to their cars from the hands of Gulnara Karimova, the chairperson of the Fund Forum’s Board of Trustees. Remarkably, this is the second time Anvarjon Muminov has come out a winner of the Prize Quiz. All told, 72,378 people participated in the prize quiz held from 15 November to 15 December.

The music-awards part followed the enchantingly colorful dance by eastern beauties to the accompaniment of another duet, pop singer Sardor Rakhimkhon and opera maestro Ismail Jalilov, who performed a song titled Euphoria, probably the most appropriate word to describe the feelings that had set in. The emotions, tears of joy, delight, applause, subtle humor and spontaneity amounted to a true festive palette for the eagerly awaited M&TVA Awards Ceremony.

And here is how the results look: Best Composer of the Year – Iqbol Muhammad; Best Singer of the Year – Ozodbek Nazarbekov; Best Female Singer of the Year – Nilufar Usmanova; Best Song of the Year – “Omoney”, sung by Shokhruhkhon; Best Music Group of the Year – Sato ensemble. In yet another surprise, Uzbek actor Farrukh Soipov, a tall and broad-shouldered heartthrob, started singing “Autumn Leaves” in French. And the surprise part is that he is not merely an actor; he, it turns out, is also a sensuous baritone. His singing lent lyricism to the concert while the ensuing music mix by Best Music Group nominees, Sato, Shod and Davr as well as people’s artists Nasiba Abdullayeva, Gulomjon Yakubov and Zulaikho Boykhonova demonstrated to the audience various genres of contemporary Uzbek music.

What followed next amounted to a crescendo of the event surprises. The lights dimmed and smoke hissed out from the backstage, forming a milky haze. The screens showed falling stars and out of the haze appeared Googoosha to perform the song Believe along with children’s choir, dancers and drummers. The M&TVA award does not honor young talents only; it also pays tribute to the achievements of professionals who have dedicated their lives to arts and whose talents have become objects of the nation’s pride. Those honored for their contributions to culture and arts include People’s artist of Uzbekistan Yaira Abdullayeva and honorary culture professional and composer Ikrom Akbarov, whose songs have long been among the nation’s favorites. In a sign of respect for the maestro’s creative endeavors, Benazir music group and pop singer Rashid Halikov presented a potpourri of Akbarov’s songs.

The Best Show of the Year award went to Style.Uz Art Week, a brainchild of Gulnara Karimova, who decided to pass the award on to the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan which organized “Aristotle’s Mystery” Young Artists Exhibition, one of the major events held as part of the Art Week in 2010.

The fifth M&TVA Awards Ceremony concluded with a concert by Alabina, a French music group famous for its mix of world music, particularly Middle Eastern, Arabic, French, and Spanish music. In Tashkent the group performed oriental hits, contributing to what came as a spectacular show which left lasting impressions and memories as well as leaving many with expectations that the Fund Forum will come up with new initiatives in the New Year.

A jury consisting of eminent culture and arts figures is charged with nominating candidates and selecting winners. The TV audience also votes for the nominees on www.mtva.uz website and through SMS messages. The results are then combined with the jury’s rating to determine the winners in each category. Now in its fifth year, the Award was set up by the Fund Forum, the Authors and Performers Guild, and TVM Channel to recognize excellence of professionals in music, television and video art.