Marat SARULU (1957, Kyrgyzstan) graduated in philology from the Kyrgyz National University in Bishkek. Afterwards he studied at the Moscow Film Academy. Sarulu works as a director and writer; among other things he wrote the script for the successful film The Adopted Son (Aktan Abdykalykov, 1998). His short film The Fly Up (2002) has been screened at several international film festivals. His film Song from the Southern Seas (2008) received numerous international awards.