Discoveries from Kazakhstan World Cinema

Every 4 seasons, a young man visits a wild apple tree on the mountainside

There are a number of daring robberies of money carriers in the city, the best police unit is looking for them, but they always find themselves one step behind. Finally, a gang of robbers decides to hit a big jackpot and then lie low.

In Cosplay one portrays a character from a manga, anime, comic, video game, etc. as closely as possible to the original through costume, mask, accessories and behavior.

Lida Blinova is well-known in the scene of the first contemporary art wave, particularly amongst architects who were very much engaged in arts in 1970s Almaty. However, almost no legacy of her art practices is left for researchers, historians and following generations of today. Being in many senses a shadow-artist of a bigger star, her husband Rustam Khalfin, directors of the documentary are questioning the possibility of the freedom of choice among Kazakhstani women artists like Lida Blinova, embarking on a biographical journey through the genealogy of contemporary art and its formation in Kazakhstan. So, the fundamental question is whether Lida Blinova was a shadow artist or an alter ego?

This is a story about how war brings destruction not only to the homes of the occupied territories, but also to the families and destinies of those who carry this war to a foreign land. A young Russian officer, an artilleryman, a veteran of the war in Ukraine returns to his homeland. And discovers an empty house. Trying to find loved ones, he realizes that his little world has been destroyed by him. He talks to his family photo and tries to justify himself by explaining why he bombed peaceful cities of another country.

A young family lives in a mountainous area near a small lake. Their baby is sick. Nothing helps. The father prays to the gods, tying ribbons to the sacred tree. He invites baksy to the house. Baksy discovers an evil spirit that strangles the life force from the child. He fights against the dark forces, but he defeats, and the exhausted baksy leaves their house, letting the helpless parents alone in their misfortune and misery. At night, the desperate mother goes to the lake and begs the great Umai Ana for help. With the rays of moonlight, the goddess of motherhood and family hearth appears in the yurt. There starts a fierce battle between good and evil for the life of a child. An ancient lullaby, intertwoven with ancient prayers, runs like a red thread through the entire film. It is the last thing the parents cling to hope in their hearts, and it becomes a hymn of victory over evil, light over darkness, and life over death.

The story begins with a casting for the film in which the main characters -Sarah and Magzhan - take part. In the orphanage, where hundreds of abandoned and lonely children are brought up, the film director approves Magzhan to play the leading role. The relationship between the main characters Sarah and Magzhan develop in the process of filming. Magzhan hopes that Sarah will adopt him after filming. Sara is torn between the choices she has to make. She wants to adopt Magzhan because she has grown to love him with all her heart. He awoke an extraordinary sense of motherhood in her. A few months after filming Sarah hurries to the orphanage to Magzhan…

A film by Sharipa Urazbayeva.

The mythic parables and traditions connection with death as The Return to the Womb of Sky. The symbolism of the actions of the funerary rituals are described. Mr. Kayirbekov has also done films about the rituals of childbirth, marriage, the symbolic parts of the yurt, and the Kazakh cosmological concept.

Biography about the life of Saidmurov Davlatov

The film is based on a little-known story that happened in 1972. Then a ferry carrying fifteen boarding students sank in the Ili River. Three drowned. But twelve were saved-thanks to the young driver of the state farm Bisetai Daurenbekov… This film is about saved children. More precisely, already adults. About how their fates turned out. Some still live on the banks of the Ili - they will tell about themselves, about others, and about Bisetai.

Azamat agrees to kidnap his best friend's fiancé Alia, before their marriage, in accordance to a Kazakh tradition. But when Azamat's family mistakenly believes that Alia is his wife-to-be, he's forced to marry his best friend's bride.

Its subject is Avangard, a kolkhoz in the Kazakh SSR, founded in 1936 by Koryo-saram who had been relocated from a previous kolhoz. The documentary is the first Soviet film about Koryo-saram after their mass deportations from their original homes in the Soviet Far East in 1937.

Follows a bear and his platypus assistant travelling through the galaxy in a spacecraft that looks like a dumpster as they deal with corrupt space-cops, hygiene officials, and an unusual food delivery service.

A flow of intense, convulsive images, sensations ranging from peace to terror. Occasional thoughts and memories that failed to take shape, all being destroyed by terrifying, oppressive external objects and impulses.

This is the deeply personal and unique journey of a woman who was born in Central Asia. Through a series of diary videos filmed in her hometown of Almaty, a melancholic exploration of the unconscious and intimate world unfolds. It presents a lyrical, essential and spiritual anthropology. At its core, the story revolves around the researcher's attempt to reconstruct her memories, showing her inability to go back and symbolizing the loneliness of a human experience during the war. "It will take a long time to heal all the wounds, many deep, invisible wounds - but who wants to think about that now?”

The film consists of six parts, each presenting a sequence of interconnected dreams and memories. Each episode intertwines fantasies, visions, fragments of the past, different stages of life, and surreal imagery. The inner world of a person — with its free flow of thought, stream of consciousness, and evolving memory — transforms over time, constantly being reimagined.

Horror film directed by Vyacheslav Petrov.

Short horror film directed by Idris Galimullin.

Two brothers Abay and Temirbek decide to rob the house of the hunter, but that night not only they decided to go to such a crime.

Every year, a train with doctors and equipment on board travels through the remote, sparsely populated areas of Kazakhstan. The Salamatty Kazakhstan (Healthy Kazakhstan) operates non-stop for 8 months and is open every day. Local residents can consult doctors for examination and diagnosis.

The word «Alastau» translates from Kazakh as “purification” and is associated with one of the most ancient pagan rituals, linked to Tengrismâ”a spiritual tradition that flourished across the Kazakh steppes before Islam’s advent. This speculative video essay transports its audience to a distant future, a time when the Sun no longer exists. In the apocalyptic world, the last surviving tribes have returned to nomadism and ritual practices, tracking and hiding from beings whose approach spells doom for all living things. Images and references deeply rooted in Kazakh culture and mythology open up a perspective for the decolonization of future narratives, creating a mystical parable about escape from death.

The film documents the first days of babies' lives in the maternity hospital.

A closer look into the private life of the famous Kazakh singer, former soloist of the first female vocal instrumental ensemble in the USSR "Aigul". The name of the heroine is Karlygash, translated into Russian as “swallow”. The fate of this woman is accompanied by constant luck and success, and is comparable to the swift flight and serene singing of a small bird in the sky. But this is only at first glance. A deep drama, where personal pain is connected with the difficult history of her family and the Kazakh people, often drives the actions of this bright and exceptionally gifted woman. And at one of the critical moments of her life she will have to remain silent... After a long, harsh winter, will we hear the Swallow singing again?

DYAD is a poignant exploration of the transformative power of love, transcending societal norms and expectations. Anna's journey serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the profound connections that bind us all. The title, derived from the Greek word meaning "pair," encapsulates the essence of the film as it delves into the dualities of love, both challenging and redemptive.

Kazakhstan’s drag scene emerged in the late 90s and is now experiencing a new wave of popularity. In Tolganay Talgat’s documentary, artists and performers of different ages, ethnicities, and genders share how they find ways to self-expression and activism in drag. Despite facing prejudice, drag culture continues to attract new audiences and support the queer community.

In the Soviet years, there was a nuclear test site near the village of Azgir. Soviet scientists produced 17 underground nuclear explosions there. No one knows for what purpose and what consequences these trials entailed for its inhabitants. Versions vary, and official data is securely stored in classified archives. Not in our country.

In 2006, 149 children were infected with HIV in Shymkent hospitals. The negligence of doctors has forever changed the lives of almost one and a half hundred children.

Ex-prisoners of Kazakhstani women's colonies spoke about the conditions of detention in prisons. Former convicts complained of poor medical care, lack of hygiene products and lack of rehabilitation after leaving the state house.

The Ili River is the main artery of Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows into the Balkhash and delivers 80% of the incoming water. The banks and irrigation canals are drained, and the old aqueducts are destroyed. The river is getting smaller every year due to a decrease in water volume.

Madina, Botha and Vova are victims of labor slavery. Despite the fact that the reasons for their enslavement and rescue are different, it is not easy for each of them to find themselves free again.

The painting "Clay - love" is the life story of the sculptor Bolat and his wife, the singer. In the nineties, along with perestroika, famine, economic and cultural crisis came to the country. Against the background of this devastation, the heroes are overtaken by a creative crisis, which, alas, the singer could not withstand. Having given free rein to madness, a woman finds solace in another man. But the wisdom and love of the spouses helps them to keep the family together.

«The mystery of a missing necklace leads two detectives through the backstreets of an old town that constantly presents them with obstacles and confuses their steps»

A video essay consisting of Uyghur detention portraits and a narration chronicling the persecution of Uyghur people by the Chinese government with an emphasis on the role of technology and AI.

Horses for the Kazakhs have always been symbols of drive and victory. The story of the conquest of Mount Olympus in the Soviet era began with the legendary Absinthe. And now in Kazakhstan there are people and horses who are ready to storm the Olympic heights.

Escape from reality. Throwing a hero on the street, fear and waiting for a call.

Khoja Ahmed Yassawi, popularly known as Khazret Sultan, Sufi poet, one of the Sufi mystics. The film shows the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, which is the central object on the territory of the historical and cultural museum-reserve "Khazret Sultan". The mausoleum is located in the city of Turkestan in the South Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan.

A picture of rebellion. About those who want to be or at least appear to be rebels.

Istvan (Atlan) Mandoki Konyr is an outstanding Turkologist of the 20th century, the founder of European Kypchak studies, the author of unique works on the history, culture and language of the Turkic peoples. He died at a creative peak in 1992. The Kazakhs called him "Konyr". This name became symbolic in Kazakh society in the 80-90s of the last century.

The film tells about the national writer of Kazakhstan, the author of numerous works on the themes of Central Asian and Russian history Moris Simashko.

After gaining independence in Kazakhstan, interest in Islam has sharply increased. The vast majority of Kazakhs call themselves Muslims. At the same time, many young people in recent years have become adherents of non-traditional movements. Radical Islam is gaining momentum in the world, and Russia is no exception. What can be opposed to this, how to deal with it? Muslims themselves, theologians, political scientists, historians argue about this. The key episode of the tape is the terrorist attack in Aktobe. The film is based on the chronicle, memories of relatives and friends of those who went to non-traditional Islam.

Active development of the capital of Kazakhstan took place in 2014. Ordinary people instantly lost the dream of their own home; more than 50 ordinary families became victims of scammers and found themselves without a roof over their heads. The fraudster embezzled the shareholders’ money and disappeared, leaving the country. Shareholders, realizing the scale of the problem, united and began their fight against the system. Many attempts to transfer housing cooperatives to other construction companies, tense and lost court cases, rallies at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, corruption and pain do not stop our heroes and they are about to achieve their goal...

The film tells about the path of Firuza Sharipova, a boxer from Kazakhstan, to the first championship belt, through professional and personal obstacles.

Nowadays Kazakh women are going through all the same processes as their contemporaries in other countries. We are not alien to such trends as feminism, we understand what the participants of the #Me Too movement are talking about. And all this happens on the background of the deliberations on “who we are, the Kazakhs?” Khanshas, princesses, regents, rulers of the clan and shield maidens – the film draws a parallel between different women’s fates, raises questions about the gender and national identity and also studies the female face of Power on the examples of the Turkic-Mongolian states on the territory of the Great Steppe.

His nickname in music is sam1 (someone). He is looking for himself, despite the fact that he is 34 years old. Outwardly, she dresses like a teenager, and at times thinks the same way. He tries himself in rap, in acting, but the main occupation is Service repair of equipment. Samat cannot quit his permanent job, as there are circumstances such as his mother and brother, who is being treated in Russia. Their father abandoned them when they were children, so their mother raised them alone. He also reads prayers. Namaz and religion for him is a very important component, thanks to which Samat finds himself. But he is not trying to be famous here and now, and he understands that this takes time and work. After all, who knows, maybe his finest hour has not yet come.

The film is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and tells about the fate of soldiers.

Film about the process of decolonization in Kazakhstan. Search for visual solutions and film language for the author's statement on this topic.

To be raped at 15 by her sister's husband, to give birth to him at 16. And in order not to be “ashamed”, the sister brings her husband to her, and she lives with her rapist for 12 years. What is it, heroism or fear?

A film about a veteran of the Great Patriotic War Semyon Simonovich Kalinin. He was born on July 12, 1920. From 1939 to 1958 he served in the Soviet Army, went through the war from beginning to end. He was a paratrooper, scout, partisan, then graduated from flight school and became a pilot. Participated in battles near Moscow and Stalingrad. Participant in the 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow. He flew fighter jets and, in peacetime, jet planes. He made an emergency landing several times and survived. They planned to take him to the cosmonaut corps. After the war, he found his destiny, got married and lived with his wife for 53 years. They have four children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. This legendary man passed away quite recently, at the age of 97, but he managed to tell the whole world about his years, lived not in vain.

Zhibek is a young athlete. Her life changes dramatically when CrossFit appears in her. She developed in herself an unshakable fortitude of spirit and the will to win. But more than anything in the world, she wants to be believed in, especially her father.

"With and without a face.Touch" is a monologue film.