The prize-winners of film festivals
Student
Kazakhstan, 2012, 90 min.
The film is based on the motives of Fedor Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment”. The action is transferred to modern Kazakhstan. The protagonist is a student of philosophy, who rents a room from an old woman in a suburb of Almaty; he suffers from loneliness and lack of money. He is surrounded with an atmosphere of poverty and an ideology of total competition where people are divided into rich and poor, strong and weak. And here he gradually gets the idea to rob a grocery shop where he sometimes buys bread.
Awards: Jo?o B?nard da Costa Special Jury Award at the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival (Portugal); NETPAC prize at the VIII Eurasia IFF (Kazakhstan).
The film has also participated in 25 film festivals, including: “Un Certain Regard”, Cannes IFF (France); “Russian Trace”, Moscow IFF (Russia); IFF Mar del Plata (Argentina); Tokyo IFF (Japan); IFF India.
Read more: Student
Constructors
Kazakhstan, 2012, 67 min.
Two brothers and their little sister are thrown out of their flat because they haven’t paid the rent. The orphans pack up their scarce possessions and go out into the countryside, 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 the 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 neighbouring sites to “borrow” tools and materials, and building by day. But no sooner are the foundation walls complete than an unsympathetic policeman advises them that the law has changed. The setbacks keep coming, but the plucky trio refuse to accept the deal.
The film has participated at the following film festivals: 13th goEast Film Festival 2013, Wiesbaden (Germany); 67th Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2013 (Scotland);
4th International Festival of Auteur Cinema (Kyrgyzstan)
Sunny days
Kazakhstan, 2011, 101 min.
The film is about several days in the life of a little man, just before his birthday. It is a story of loss: during film he loses his girlfriend, his best friend, and almost the apartment; in his house the light and the phone are disconnected. But apparently the hero is not too afflicted by these losses. And finally, this little man disappears. But there is no tragedy: there is another little man and life continues. This is a story about the great value of life of every man, even the smallest and, at first sight, useless creature. But it appears that each of us has a great value for the general current of life on earth.
Awards: Premio Boccallino at Locarno IFF (Switzerland); Best Director at VII Eurasia IFF (Kazakhstan)
The film has participated in the following film festivals: Cinema Jove IFF (Spain); “Five Continents” section at G?teborg IFF (Sweden); Castellinaria International Festival of Young Cinema (Switzerland); “East of the West” at Haifa IFF (Israel); FICA-Vesoul IFF of Asian Cinema (France); International Youth Film Festival “Colors of the World” (Tatarstan)
Rieltor
Kazakhstan, 2011, 83 min.
This is a story about Darik, a man who searches for himself in time and space. In our days Darik is just a philistine and an alcoholic bum. But suddenly finding himself in the past, he discovers the simplicity of nature, finds a family, and feels responsible for his neighbors. The land as a major archetype in the mythology of the nomads is a leitmotif that runs throughout the film. The plot of time travel is widely used, but in this film the present and past are compared in a rather surrealistic way. The main idea is the conscience of the anti-social character Darik. He wakes up in the past after having fallen asleep quietly in the present.
Awards: Kinoshok FF of CIS & Baltic States, Special Jury Prize, Anapa (Russia), 2011; Pure Dreams IFF, Special Prize, St. Petersburg (Russia), 2011; CINDI IFF, White Chameleon Award, Seoul (South Korea), 2012; Kinolikbez IFF, Grand Prix (“Golden Jean-Luc”), Barnaul (Russia), 2012; Shaken’s Stars IFF, Grand Prix (“Young Cinema”), Almaty (Kazakhstan), 2012.
The film has participated in the following film festivals: Dubai IFF, Dubai (United Arabian Emirates), 2011; Eurasia IFF, Almaty (Kazakhstan), 2011; Fantaspoa IFF, Porto Alegre (Brazil), 2012; Golden Minbar IFF, Kazan (Russia/Tatarstan), 2012.
Reverence
Kazakhstan, 2013, 34 min.
Educational film for students of film-schools about the influence of directors on each other.
