In Kyrgyzstan, where tradition keeps women in the shadows, Gulbara Omorova leads an expedition to dangerous glaciers and peaks, demanding the government take action to save their country’s fragile nature.
High in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, where glaciers are rapidly disappearing, hydrologist Gulbara Omorova continues her work at the intersection of environmental science, gender, and cultural memory. One of the few women leading glacier research in the country, she navigates an underfunded scientific system shaped by Soviet legacies and persistent patriarchal norms. At the National Academy of Sciences, she faces institutional resistance, scarce resources, and pressure to remain invisible—yet she insists on speaking publicly, leading expeditions, and challenging authority.
The film follows Gulbara across glaciers, laboratories, and her everyday life, revealing the personal cost of her work. Alongside scientific research, she undertakes another mission: restoring the original Kyrgyz names of mountains and glaciers erased during colonial and Soviet periods. For her, science becomes inseparable from language, memory, and power.
As Gulbara begins to communicate science in Kyrgyz, she reclaims the right to produce knowledge rooted in local contexts. In the summer of 2026, she leads a climate camp for young women, creating a space where science, mentorship, and decolonial thinking meet.
The Voices of Glaciers is a portrait of resistance and care, asking who has the right to name the land, speak science, and shape the future.
