Kazakh filmmakers and documentarians
A major center of cinema in the 1940s, the Almaty studios were the location for the filming of the classic Ivan the Terrible, the last feature film by Russian director Sergei Eisenstein (1946). A large-scale production featuring hundreds of extras in epic scenes, rarely equaled in the history of Soviet cinema. Initially approved by Stalin, the three-part saga ended up as a single film, the second part having been banned by the Soviet authorities as anti-historical. The filmmaker's death in 1948 caused the project to be abandoned, and it wasn't until 1958 that a recomposed version of the second film was released, after the death of Stalin himself.
After the war, the majority of Mosfilm's film shoots were repatriated to Moscow, and film production in the region declined. It wasn't until the 1980s that a new generation of local filmmakers took up the camera and captured the essence of this era, marked by the turning point of perestroika. Among these films, Igla is undoubtedly the best known, being the founder of what would later be known as the Kazakh New Wave. Directed by Rachid Nougmanov and released in 1988, Igla follows Moro's misadventures as he confronts the decay of his country and the growing drug problem in the region. Carried by its lead actor, Russian rocker Viktor Tsoi of the band Kino, the film is a searing portrayal of the disenchanted Soviet youth of the period.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan continued to produce films thanks to the government-supported Kazakh Film Studio. In the 1990s, several filmmakers made a name for themselves both nationally and internationally, such as Darezhan Omirbaev, actor, director and screenwriter, who released his first feature film, Kaïrat, in 1992. Nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, he went on to win the Silver Leopard there, before going on to win the Prix Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for his film Tueur à gages. Since then, he has become a regular at major festivals, showcasing a cinema that combines personal inspiration with adaptations of the great Russian authors such as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Ten years later, Kazakh cinema was once again rewarded at Cannes, with the film Tulpan by director Sergueï Dvortsevoï (2008).
In a completely different register, filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov is making a name for himself with his genre films, with Daywatch, a fantastic action film released in 2004. Following the international success of his films, he pursued his career as a producer-director between Russia and Hollywood, where he shot Wanted (2008) and the remake of Ben-Hur in 2016.
Kazakhstan is also a country of female directors, thanks to figures like Zhanna Issabayeva, crowned at the Deauville Asian Film Festival in 2013 with Nagima. Or thanks to documentary filmmaker Katya Suvorova, who examines Kazakh society in films such as Let There Be a Girl (2021-2022). A poignant documentary that explores and questions the tradition of a country where parents name their daughters after boys, in the hope, in the event of a future birth, of having a boy. A choice fraught with consequences, and a strong emotional impact on the women the filmmaker meets.
A city built by and for the cinema
One of the most memorable shootings in the history of Kazakh cinema is probably that of Nomad, an epic historical fresco released in 2005 in Kazakhstan, then in 2007 worldwide in English version. It tells the story of the childhood, youth and rise to power of young Kablaï Khan, the last free Khan in the country's history before the Russian annexation. Despite an impressive budget and major investment in sets, the film was an international commercial failure. Nevertheless, the city built for the purposes of the film is still accessible today, and has been reused for numerous film shoots since its creation. It can be visited like an open-air museum, and is accessible by cab from the town of Kounaïev, formerly Kapchagaï.
A short history of Kazakh cinemas
The first public cinema screening in Kazakhstan took place in 1900, in the city of Almaty to be precise. However, it wasn't until 1911 that the country's first cinema opened its doors in the same city, remaining in operation until it was destroyed by fire in the 1930s. Subsequently, Kazakh cinemas tended to be set up in parks, like the Rodina Cinema in Gorky Park, a facility that became a permanent cinema in the 1950s, with over 700 seats. Today, the country's numerous cinemas are mainly complexes owned by multinational chains, offering high-quality cinematic experiences. Please note, however, that most films are dubbed and unsubtitled, but some screenings are shown in the original version. In Almaty, head to the Kinopark IMAX for one of the country's largest screens, or to the Lumiera Cinema for a comfortable, welcoming cinema experience. In Astana, the VIP Cinema offers small, private, professional-quality theatres with à la carte service, but you can also enjoy the comfort of a number of more traditional theatres, if you feel like it. Finally, if you're more of a red-carpet fan, make a detour to the astonishing Almaty Indie Film Festival, an internationally renowned event that showcases light productions and independent films, with some nice surprises in store. In Astana, the Action Film Festival brings you the latest international and local blockbusters, in a more brutal but not necessarily unpleasant style. Finally, if you'd like to extend your discovery, the Kazakh Film Festival takes place annually between Paris, Brussels and Luxembourg, showcasing the diversity of national cinema to European audiences. Enough to satisfy your cinephile curiosity, whether you're traveling or at home.
