Discoveries from Kazakhstan World Cinema

Khodzha Nasreddin saves the donkey from the heat. Now he is in the service of Khodzha, from which all his adventures begin. Donkey lives, works, cannot raise his head, but meeting with Khodzha will turn his world upside down.

The action of this story begins in the near future. The great device codenamed as the “Phantom” is invented by the Global Security Corporation in order to eliminate the crime and to establish a secure global community. But, it is not how it really is. The reverse side of the “Phantom” is to establish an absolute control over people’s minds. The Corporation aims to change the course of the history, by gaining the community of obedient “puppets”, who would never realize that their minds are being controlled. Step by step, the “Phantom” fractures people’s lives, but nobody suspects anything, until it destroys the lives of in-love couple- Timur and Keira. She is convicted of murder, and he needs to break the law to save her. An American criminal hacker named Zach helps Timur to find the truth, and to uncover the Corporation’s conspiracy.

In the center of the plot are three friends, three old men who swore in the name of the happiness of their friend Kaltay to marry him, no matter what. They do not suspect that soon they will have to get into the whirlpool of incredible, but fun adventures. Especially since love is the cause of everything.

Yerlan is a young doctor whose life is very calm in the village. But one day he learns that his girlfriend, who is studying in Mexico, is getting married to another. Intending to return it, the guy, along with his faithful quirky friend, goes to a distant land.

Sergey Dvortsevoy makes his international debut with this astonishingly intimate portrait of a nomadic family on the Kazakh plains. Several scenes in this slow, elegant film betray a certain dry humor -- a child devouring the last of a bowl of yogurt and then crying; a cow getting its head stuck in a pail; and a woman singing to herself, accompanied by her snoring husband. Other scenes capture the nomads' hardscrabble lives -- drunken herdsmen in the grips of existential despair, growling dogs, and a camel enduring a rather grim septum piercing. By the end of the film, the family pulls up stakes and herds its sundry four-legged beasts -- camels, cattle, goats, dogs, and horses -- to a more fertile plain. This film was screened at the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival.

Five teenage girls forge a strong friendship after a chance encounter. Their carefree days take a risky turn, testing their loyalty. Crossing a line puts their bond to the test, leaving their future uncertain. What'll their ending be?

Living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a young man is preparing to become a bus conductor. One day, in between wandering the city streets and going to the movies, he makes the acquaintance of a female student.

A cop ventures into a remote village to investigate a gruesome series of inexplicable events and soon finds himself in the center of an otherworldly storm of local witchcraft and death. It becomes clear that the curse of Albasty, a spirit said to devour infants, is horrifyingly real. Produced as an anthology series, first three episodes premiering at Fantasia Film Festival as a feature film.

A modern Kazakh version of Agatha Christie's plot: four married couples, two from Kazakhstan and two from Russia, win a vacation in a chalet in the Almaty mountains. But when they get together in a chalet, they are cut off from the outside world by an avalanche, and then a ruthless elimination game begins...

Aidai the baksy, or witch doctor, lives in the mountains and helps people. She uses mysterious actions to cure the sick and to give infertile couples children. As capitalist forces begin to encroach on tradition, the first casualty is any culture's most fundamental inheritance - land. The healer has to leave her land because the mob thinks the location is suitable for a filling station. A harsh battle between supernatural good and earthly evil ensues.

A story of four childhood friends who mysteriously disappeared while camping in the rural mountains of Trans Ili Alatau. The following events were recorded on Sultan's videocamera, who was making his student thesis project on a local plant called the Asafoetida.

The story of a daughter-in-law whose relationship with her mother-in-law reaches its boiling point. The main character, who for many years endured not only the sharp remarks of her husband's mother, but also the frequent belittling of her status, decides to file for divorce. But one fine morning, something changes.

In Almaty, a cash-strapped couple hatch a plan to solve their money troubles, but soon become embroiled in a toxic web of social media, violent criminality and spiralling greed.

Ex-con Kermek and his beloved Eva want to leave their crime-infested lives on the Kazakh steppes behind. He has a dream: building a movie theater in the mountains. Will Kermek's love of Alain Delon be strong enough to keep them out of the violent clutches of the mafia?

Asa, a young and cheerful dreamer, returns from his Russian naval service to his sister’s nomadic family on the desolate Hunger Steppe of central Asia, so that he can begin his own life as a shepherd. But before he can tend a flock of his own, Asa must first win the hand of the only eligible girl for miles—his mysterious neighbor, Tulpan.

The feature film "The Composer" tells about the life and work of the Chinese composer Xian Xinghai in the Soviet Union, including during the evacuation to Alma-Ata, as well as about his friendship with the Kazakh composer Bakhytzhan Baykadamov.

Meet the first medium-length film from Irina Kairatovna - "Zakladka."

A woman is led by her family to her new husband's home, to live with, presumably, his elderly mother and younger brother. Despite being forced into the marriage, she discovers that he is not such a bad catch after all but domestic bliss does not last long.

Adil is an assistant prosecutor, the only son in a patriarchal family. Currying favor at work in front of the boss, he "excuses" the family abuser in court - the son of a high-ranking official who beats his wife. One day, he wakes up in an alternate universe where men and women occupy opposite roles. In this world, he faces inequality and a biased attitude towards men. Adil changes his views on gender equality and decides to help a victim of domestic violence. His actions lead to his dismissal from the prosecutor's office, but he continues to fight for justice. Eventually, he decides to become an independent human rights defender.

A little boy Anatole lives in 1960s in the steppe in Kazakhstan with his parents-archaeologists. One day he witnesses the accidental death of his brother, this drama traumatizes the boy so much that he loses his ability to speak. Once he meets an old Kazakh who will teach him to hear again the world around him and will teach him how to speak again. The whole life of Anatole depends from now on from his ability to hear. His ear connects him to the world. 50 years later, the steppe calls him again.

Events in the "Businessmen" unfold in the era of the 90's, when the country is experiencing an economic crisis. Heroes of the film are among the first who stood at the origins of market relations in Kazakhstan.

Bakhytzhan Abdulayev — the former sword of the three Zhuzes — after high-profile cases in the past, having suffered the loss of loved ones, leaves the criminal path. Secluded in the mountains, he lives his life as a hermit. However, the news of the brutal murder of his nephew disturbs his peace and idyll. Baha learns that the culprit is Saken, the son of the local oligarch Sansyzbai, a dangerous and influential man who is not subject to the laws. Baha decides to go on the warpath against the most powerful and influential clans of the three Zhuzes. He is ready to do anything to restore justice.

The film tells the story of a young athlete, Adai, who dreamed of fighting in big arenas. Due to the choice of the wrong environment, he falls under the influence of narcotic substances, although it all started with a simple try. Adai shows the price of a mistake and how far he can be from his dream. By his example, he instills in the viewer a sense of perseverance, showing how to go to goals, no matter what.

Teenager Amir hides from reality in his virtual world. Unlike problems at home and at school, everything is simple and clear in the game. However, conflicts are accumulating, including due to attachment to such a digital escape.

When the Soviets impose new ways of collective farming and permanent settlements on a region of nomadic dwellers, young Ilyas is separated from his mother, Mariam. Through decades of war, mother and son persevere in their efforts to be reunited.

Based on a true story, a small-town Kazakh singer, Amre Kashaubayev, journeys to Paris to compete in an international singing competition at the 1925 Paris Expo. He meets American songwriter George Gershwin forming a beautiful and unlikely friendship. While Amre’s talent for singing opens up an exciting new world outside Kazakhstan, he is forced to choose between following his singing career and remaining loyal to his home country.

The main character has a dream: he wants to become a director. On his way to achieving it, he faces many challenges, and the hardest one is his divorce from his family. But he doesn’t give up and finally reaches his dream. Now, he must win his family back!

Young boxer Arlan, a trainee at the Olympic Reserve Boxing School, dreams of making it to the Olympics. However, he is forced to take on side jobs to support his mother and younger brother, who suffers from a rare illness. One day, while working at a store, he meets Alina, a piano student at the conservatory who secretly dreams of becoming a singer. Their meeting inspires her to gain the confidence to choose her own path. As his brother’s condition worsens and expensive treatment becomes necessary, Arlan, following the advice of his friend Tokha, agrees to take part in underground bare-knuckle fights to earn quick money — sacrificing his dream of Olympic gold. Now, he must endure a grueling journey through the brutal world of underground fighting, where the reigning champion is the undefeated Nikita Aday.

The story of the growing up of 11-year-old Dzhabai, who sells mountain onions on the highway, who finds his mother with his idol, a truck driver, and goes to China for Viagra for his father that he becomes a strong man.

A highly skilled bodyguard avenging his brother's untimely death uncovers a ring of corruption extending to the highest levels of society and government.

A young man Danesh learns of ancient relics, including a ruby that once a year can help find treasure in the Canyon of Scorpio. As the old man holding the knowledge passes away, Danesh receives the ruby and a map, setting out for an adventure full of mystery and danger, friend and foe, set under the dazzling southern sun.

The third part of the epic "The Way of the Leader" tell about the student years of Nursultan Nazarbayev, about the most important stages of his personality formation against the background of key events in the history of the country, when the future of Kazakhstan's industry was being built in the steppes.

Left without parents, having gone through hardships and hardships, Kasym ends up in a boarding school, where he learns true friendship and becomes a marksman. Growing up, he falls in love, goes through exploits and betrayal during the Great Patriotic War. A "thread" from the past helps him to keep a person in himself, which connects him with the roots of the family and the values of his ancestors.

Vocal Parallels is a surreal, impressionistic concert of classical opera pieces performed by several retired Soviet opera divas: Roza Dzhamanova, Araksiia Davtian, Bibigul’ Tulegenova, and the late Erik Salim-Meriuert (Kurmangaliev), a fantastic countertenor.

During a medical examination, 13-year-old Aslan is humiliated in front of a load of his fellow pupils. The incident unleashes his latent personality disorder. Plagued by self-doubt, he strives for cleanliness and perfection and is obsessed with trying to control everything around him. His compulsion draws Aslan, who lives with his grandmother in a village in Kazakhstan, into increasingly difficult situations. He abhors the way most of his fellow pupils are held in the sway of a criminal scheme, in which Bolat, one of Aslan’s tormentors, is also involved. Bolat blackmails the younger children into paying him protection money; he has nothing but contempt for ostracised Aslan.

Fifteen year old Mustafa has a nickname Schizo. He is hired by his mother’s boyfriend to find fighters for illegal fistfights. His life is changed forever when a young man mortally beaten in one of the fights asks Schizo to deliver his prize money to his girlfriend and young son. Schizo takes the money to the woman as promised and falls in love with her. Now he knows for whom he has to make money, no matter what the cost. In fistfights there are no rules… until blood is spilled!

A bipoic about Mustafa Shokai, a distinguished Kazakh politican of 1920's.

A story about devastating consequences of online dating.

Masked figures with machine guns march into the secondary school in Karatas, take the pupils hostage, and execute one of them. They make no demands. Silent terror is their modus operandi. Seeing as the army will take two days to arrive due to a snowstorm, maths teacher Tazshi decides to assemble his own assault team: his ex-wife, the gym teacher, the cowardly school principal, an alcoholic night watchman, the village idiot, and an incompetent chief of police.

A story that spans three periods in Kazakh history, it links mid 19th century struggles against the Russians to two 20th century episodes revolving around the fate of former political prisoner Ermukhan Bekmakhanov, who was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for writing historical books about Kazakh national hero Kenesary Kasymov and his national liberation movement.

Dina works as a journalist for the national television station. The stories she is asked to report on are becoming increasingly absurd and full of praise for the government. Her love life is limited to a few secret meetings with her married camera­man. Dina looks after her young sis­ter, a lesbian activist, who regularly finds herself in trouble with the au­thorities.

A group of drunk students kills a person in road accident and disposes the body. The ghost of deceased starts to get revenge.

The film tells about Nursultan Nazarbayev who went into politics and made efforts to improve the existing at that time difficult situation in Kazakhstan’s metallurgy.

The story of the moral decline and rebirth of a young schoolgirl. Turning to faith, she finds solace in a convent.

An epic drama about the life, love and creativity of the Kazakh poet Abai (1845-1904), an educator, thinker and politician of the 19th century.

USSR Kazakhstan. Sher Sadykhov, who lives with his older sister, starts his internship at a special task force. Sher’s internship begins with the emergence of a serial killer that only kills women. New victims occur and the investigation seems to be at a blind alley. Meanwhile, Sher finds out that his sister is the new target of the serial killer…

A young and ambitious guy from the village goes to the city to fulfill his dream and enter the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His desire to become a policeman is known to everyone around him. However, there is a gang in the area where his uncle lives, and besides, when he enters the academy, he meets his love. Now he will not only have to prepare for exams, but also enter into a confrontation with bandits in order to protect his loved ones and his future.

The hardships encountered by Aisha, a young Kazakh singer, whose dream is to sing in Paris.

Nauryz is a magic time of year when all the wildest dreams may come true.

Two brothers and their little sister are thrown out of their flat because they haven't paid the rent. The orphans pack up their few possessions and go out to the country, where the family owns a small plot of land. The children set up camp, knowing they have to fend for themselves. But this solution is insecure, too: they are told, in no uncertain terms, that all plots will shortly pass to the state unless at least the foundations of a house have been laid. The threesome get down to work, making night-time visits to neighboring sites to 'borrow' tools and materials, then building by day. But no sooner are the foundation walls complete than an unsympathetic policeman ad...

The tireless Kazakh master has no name. He feels no pain. He says no words. He returns from war to a big, dangerous city rife with corruption. The former war veteran shows no mercy, punishing the greedy and the rich. He has no choice – kill or be killed. He is determined to protect his missing younger brother's family by finding his brother's redheaded wife, all the while rebelling against the system and avoiding his many vengeful enemies.

The story of a boy whose childhood fell on the difficult war and post-war years. The film will tell about the formation of personality, character, attitude of the child, about the first disappointments, about the birth and realization of his dreams.

The main character, his wife and small son lose their way and become stuck on a country road. As a result, they have to spend the night in their car. The following morning, the main character awakens alone, his wife and son having mysteriously disappeared. His preliminary searches bring the hero to a small lonely house, in which an old man and a young woman live. It seems that these strange tenants know about him and his family but try to hide their knowledge. For what reason?

Spurred by his own postmodern musings and the growing inequality, corruption, and kill-or-be-killed ethic of post-Soviet Kazakhstan, a solitary philosophy student steers his directionless life toward the commission of a violent crime, which leads to growing guilt.

Gaukhar is pregnant, and Aidar seems to have finally found a common language with his wife's brothers. But everything changes when the main character is faced with an unusual illness. Kuvad's syndrome - an imaginary pregnancy in men - can completely destroy Aidar's plans and even his marriage.

While the district administration prepares for the arrival of high-ranking guests, local alcoholic Sadyq Ospanovich solves intergalactic problems. Two large-scale events, developing simultaneously, lead to an inevitable conflict. The life-weary saleswoman Nadezhda and the naive policeman Baur find themselves between two fires.

A new father could not be more happy about the birth of his first son...until he learns that the baby is not biologically his. In spite of everything, he raises the child as his own.

Some say that love is when two halves of hearts that complement each other meet. But what happens if he is a blind musician, and she is a deaf artist. Together they complete each other and prove that the love is beyond any boundaries.

Young guys from different social strata, some of whom have a criminal past, are called up to the airborne troops. Sergeant Alexey Burov (Alexey Serebryakov) was appointed commander of a platoon of recruits. It is he who instills in inexperienced "sons" the skills of hand-to-hand combat, mutual assistance and army savvy in the ongoing exercises. And now the day of baptism of fire has come. A unit of paratroopers receives an order to help border guards neutralize a large gang of drug traffickers trying to illegally cross the border...