Director Elzat Yeskendir demanded equal opportunities for Kazakh-speaking authors from Kazakhfilm
On February 28, director Elzat Yeskendir came out with a poster in front of the building of JSC Kazakhfilm in Almaty demanding equal opportunities for Kazakh-speaking film directors.
According to him, Kazakh-speaking directors cannot participate in international events – their scripts are not read and are not supported. This is reported by Tilkespekjoq and the publication "Orda".
The message is about the film "Abil", which was shown at film festivals in Busan (South Korea), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Vesoul (France).
According to Orda, directors Elzat Yeskendir and actor Erlan Toleutai wanted to enter the Kazakhfilm building, but they were categorically refused entry – security cited the decree of Aidar Omarov, acting head of Kazakhfilm, as well as the facility's security.
"We returned from Europe with three prizes (the Grand Prix, the Film Critics' Prize and the NETPAC Jury Prize – editor's note ) and we can't go into our native Kazakhfilm. How should we understand this?" Erlan Toleutay was indignant.
The director and actor took their film “Abil” to Europe – about a Kazakh village against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the social transformation of society.
The film first had its European premiere in Gothenburg, Sweden, and was then shown at the Vesoul Asian Film Festival in France.
The film itself was shot at Kazakhfilm on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Information. However, as director Elzat Yeskendir reported, he did not receive any financial support for participation in international festivals – neither from the film studio nor from the ministry. He also added that the studio's management ignored the film's international success.
What did they say at Kazakhfilm?
The studio said in a statement that it is always proud of the success of its films and rewards the authors for their achievements.
However, the issue of financing the creative team's trip to a film festival in Europe was related to the limited budget for film promotion. In this regard, Kazakhfilm cooperates with private film companies to finance such events.
In this case, the film company TOO Tanaris took on financial obligations to promote the film in international markets and film festivals. But despite the appeal of Kazakhfilm, the film company has not yet responded to the request for funding for the trip.
Kazakhfilm noted that it is always open to constructive dialogue and actively interacts with professional filmmakers and the animation community.
The studio called on everyone to cooperate for the further development of Kazakhstani cinema and the creation of new successful projects.
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Cover: photo – Elzat Eskendir / Facebook