Discoveries from Kazakhstan World Cinema

A realtor, a thief, a collector and a traffic police officer decide to do good deeds when they find out that they are terminally ill.

On the eve of the opening of the exhibition, a unique exhibit disappears from the largest museum in Kazakhstan. The police have only 24 hours to find and return the artifact.

Aina Musina's long-awaited solo stand-up concert from the Kazakh Stand Up Astana channel called "Excuses". The solo album raises the problems of domestic violence, misogyny, harassment, humiliating stereotypes, victimblaming, ageism, the unsafe situation of women in Kazakhstan, inequality and many other problems.

Galim Kaliakbarov's fourth solo concert was called "Bunk Bed". Galym talks for more than an hour about popularity, his own childhood, raising children (both his own and not), family, the structure of our lives and much, much more.

Second solo stand-up concert of the comedian from Kazakhstan Galim Kaliakbarov. Recorded in Almaty in 2020.

A Kazakh bride wanders around the streets of Almaty.

Based on the story "Sin Sholpan" by Magzhan Zhumabayev.

Azamat, before leaving for the army, wants to buy a car for his father so that he can earn a living on it. There are 10 days left before the army, and he agrees to steal.

Three middle school friends have gathered up at a slumber party. Suddenly, an ancient demon has possessed one of them. Will the remaining friends survive and perhaps save their friend?

It is a social drama about a female juvenile inspector whose daughter has leukemia. Despite the mother’s desperate efforts, the child cannot be saved.

A young filmmaker gets an assignment to shoot a film and finds himself in an unfamiliar environment - an aul (kazakh village). A young man from the city is immersed in a completely different world. The life of the small village is full of intrigues, conflicts and dramas, to which the protagonist becomes a participant. Step by step he begins to understand and accept everything that is happening. The film ends with a celebration - the circumcision of a small child. This ancient Kazakh ritual brings people together again. Grievances and arguments are forgotten. The joy of being returns to people's souls. The film is a statement that if money is evil, and it is ineradicable, then kindness lives in any person soul , and it is also ineradicable.

The old man’s last wish – to fulfill the Kazakh tradition and put his grandson on a stallion – is shattered by everyday life, bureaucracy and loneliness, remaining unfulfilled. The music of Johann Bach on the dombra emphasizes pain and hope.

Luka has a disturbing dream in his sleep. He tries to tell his girlfriend Tina about it, but Tina herself is completely immersed in her thoughts about the breakup. Her decision is tragic for both of them.

Kazakh has an old tradition that every Kazakh boy over the age of five has to be circumcised in autumn. This traditional ceremony has a symbolic meaning that a boy is about to become a man. This story is about a young Kazakh boy who comes to his grandfather’s house in the grassland of pastoral areas with his family, and goes through the traditional circumcision ceremony. During the process, he becomes fearful after discovering it is a medical surgery. Although he tries to run away from it, he eventually goes through the ceremony. With the physiological changes, his character and thoughts change and he is on his path to adulthood…

Indira decides to restart her life and move to London. However, on her last day, she dares to explore what she will leave behind.

In a remote village on the Kazakh steppe, Mariam lives with her husband and four young children in a home without light or water. One winter day, her husband disappears. Without a body, he cannot be declared dead and Mariam is unable to receive state financial support. A very reserved person who buries her emotions, she must face survival of her family on her own in the harsh, rural winter. Inspired by actual events in Mariam's life, who portrays herself in a film that blurs documentary and drama as it paints her life's mundane details.

The film depicts a daily life of contemporary Mongolia in the period of social and political changes. Through the observation of several characters and circumstances of their lives, the film is trying to reveal the moment, where the old and the new world meet each other. The moment in which the centuries-old tradition of great Mongolia is shifted by the shaky culture of today, with its dreams, fears and desires, alien to the nomadic civilization.

A story about a romantic relationship between musician and lady with restive spirit.

This concert is about toxic love—about betrayal, abuse, hatred, and attachment. About fear, being diminished, going without, and the endless cycle of forgiveness and apologies. About being the victim, the persecutor, and the rescuer all at the same time. About how, against all odds, I made it work.

When a crook finds himself in a big trouble, love becomes his only option.

This documentary is based on the book "Chronicles of the Great Juta" by V. Mikhailov. This famine devastated the Kazakh steppe, surpassing the Dzungarian invasion , and more than half of the Kazakhs were killed. After this famine, the number of Kazakhs reached the number in the 1926 census only forty years later.

A dream-like, fashion-forward reflection on nomadic life in Central Asia and Kazakh culture

Zhayna travels from Xinjiang to Almaty in search of her missing husband, Yersin, who vanished without a trace when the Kazakhstan-China border closed during the pandemic, and the political winds grew harsh. Reuniting with old companions, she meanders through memories of youth, love, and the shifting world they left behind. – Ivan Ramljak

Berkut, a hyperactive boy, discovers rock music and suddenly becomes calm and focused. His mother decides to sign him up for music lessons. But no teacher can handle him.

On a train leaving to Kazakhstan, three young men are stopped by border patrol, forbidden to leave the Russian Federation, even as the officer mockingly notes that they “suddenly all have grandmothers in Kazakhstan”. One of them, Petya, was called for mobilization but he refuses to fight. Instead, he decides to escape and hide in a nearby town, only to find danger waiting at every turn.

Adil finds out about the session of a certain man who solves any life problems. He signs up with him, trying to find out the truth of his brother's death, but he meets with a cruel reality.

Biik is a short, energetic guy. He works for his own courier company. Biik's short stature always gets him into funny situations, especially when it comes to relationships with girls. The romantic comedy is full of funny moments and shows that true love in life consists of sincerity and loyalty.

Based on the novel by Kazakh writer Zh. Aimautov. The film tells the story of a time of lawlessness in the Kazakh steppe, when power shifted between the "Reds" and the "Whites." Through the fate of the young beauty Akbilek, the tragic history of her family is revealed.

Ajar is a mother of two children. One day, her husband comes home drunk and falls asleep. Their eldest child says, "My little sister is not outside," Ajar is horrified to realize that her daughter is missing, plunging her into deep sorrow.

"We founded footages with found footages as a found footage" claims the Eurasian collective Pastinaca Videotapes Plantation, composed by anonymous filmmakers. They are rescuing and re-creating an abandoned Chinese "Neican", an old and rare VCR tape, a format now almost extinct everywhere. Such is the case with this political-tourist documentary about Western Cyprus, blossomed of their fertile, unique and mysterious cultivation, perhaps intending to find refreshing insights into the past for present complexities.

The work refers to aitys, a song competition between two poets known as akyns. It has a long tradition in Qazaq and Kyrgyz histories. The spoken word is crucial for both steppe cultures, which mainly produce and distribute knowledge orally, often without creating written archives. Akyns also used the spoken word to fight tyranny, to speak directly to their administrative hierarchy, i.e. khans, terens, bis, and beks. No issue was ignored by the aityskers, or debaters. The situation drastically changed in Soviet times when Qazaq steppe nomads were forced to adopt a settled way of life — hence, to change their traditions. In the 21st century, aitys remains depoliticized and is used by political monopolists as a propagandist trope to solidify an illusion of free speech.

Hazm kardan dushvor ast (Hard to digest) is a short film that weaves together the video archives of women in Nazira Karimi’s family with the archival footage authored by European women from the collection of Vienna’s Filmmuseum. Atop, as a separate layer, comes the filmmaker’s voiceover where she shares a recipe for Central Asian cultural food in her broken German language. Through the lens of food and language, addressing white European feminist perspective, the film delves into the intersection of personal history and cultural identity.

The crew of the spaceship "Showtime" lands on the planet in search of something new and strange...

Azat, a schoolboy living near nature, was contacted by the sky but started to drift from the closest ones.

In this solo stand-up concert, Veronica wanted to share her most personal stories, views on stereotypes of a girl closer to 30, talk about self-acceptance and childhood.

The story of a young girl who strives for her dream despite all obstacles.

Cybercrimes are among the most difficult to solve. Every day, dozens of Kazakhstanis fall for the bait of scammers who easily empty their cards. Why are we so gullible and what are the police doing to combat this?

A young mother on her working day leaves her young daughter to a married couple who cannot have a child because of the husband's infertility. The girl becomes attached to them, which the husband strongly dislikes.

A documentary about a rehabilitation center for addicts with drug addiction, gambling addiction and alcoholism.

The story is about two elderly women huddled in a two-room apartment with sixty dogs.

Prishakhtinsk is a district of Karaganda. In this area, there is an industrial zone where, for the second consecutive year, a unique event dedicated to the memory of Yegor Letov has been held.

Nurken with his crew on a plane engulfed in flames crashed into the thick of enemy tanks. Dozens of fascist soldiers and officers went into oblivion with him. A terrible explosion shook everything around. So Nurken and his friend Alexander Komissarov went into immortality. In Volgograd, on Mamaev Kurgan, the very first plate is a memorial plaque made of black marble, on which his name is carved. Hero of the Soviet Union Nurken Abdirov.

Popular science film based on the book by Marco Polo.

The film is about rethinking human values and the meaning of life during the coronavirus pandemic. The film is about people who fulfilled their mission despite the danger of the virus. The film is based on the video diaries of the main characters, who recorded their work during quarantine and lockdown.

The life of migrants in Kazakhstan.

For the first time in Kazakhstan, a documentary feature film was shot about people suffering from cerebral palsy.