Cinematography - The Times Of Central Asia

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Film Festival

Women, Cinema and Changing Kazakhstan at QYZQARAS 2026

From August 20 to 30, Almaty hosted the third edition of QYZQARAS, an independent international film festival dedicated to women directors’ voices and the female gaze in cinema. Held this year at the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture, the festival presented 21 feature films, including five notable works from Central Asia, among them Kristina Mikhailova’s widely discussed River Dreams. River Dreams had its world premiere in the Berlinale Forum Special section in 2026 and received the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury in the Forum program. The screening marked an important milestone: the film became the first Kazakh documentary feature to premiere at the Berlinale. After a run of international festival appearances, the film returned home: on August 20, it opened QYZQARAS at the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture. River Dreams “This epic helped me believe in myself and feel at peace. I believe every frame,” Kristina said after the long applause that followed the final scene. Opening with a striking metaphysical orange river, River Dreams explores the inner lives of women in Kazakhstan. Constantly balancing between dream states and startlingly candid confession, the documentary immerses viewers in a wide range of themes – love, trauma, resistance, and survival – as women reflect on their pasts beside moving water. Grounded in a deeply humanist perspective, Mikhailova’s film presents tenderness as a sustained act of courage. Kristina’s presence behind the camera and the atmosphere of trust on set create an unpretentious portrait of contemporary Kazakhstan. It explores how the image of women is changing in this context, and how women directors themselves are shaping that change. Mikhailova begins with a simple question: “What kind of river are you?” From there, she builds the film around the personal stories of women of different ages and social backgrounds in Kazakhstan. This initial impulse encourages them to compare socially constructed ideals of femininity with what actually exists inside each of them. The most unexpected aspect of the film is the amount of humor. The protagonists’ wry, self-aware voices form an uncompromisingly honest agenda for contemporary Kazakh society: corruption, impunity, language, violence against women, and decolonization. “Decolonization is not only about one’s native language; it is about hierarchy. We look down on one another – it is a slave mentality: ‘I am better than you, so I will discriminate against you,’” says one of the young women featured in River Dreams. The director takes a transparent approach to the sensitive issue of language: in her view, what matters most is not which language we speak, but whether we are speaking about what truly matters. [caption id="attachment_56247" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image: Azhar Utezhan[/caption] “The girls did not resist or struggle with the concept of radical vulnerability; it is a very simple idea,” Mikhailova said. The Aksai River, where Kristina grew up and where her father taught her as a child to be stronger, becomes an embodiment of the socio-political whirlpool into which women in Kazakhstan have been drawn over the past 30 years. Unpredictable weather and shifting water levels carry...

Cinematography

“It’s a Fantasy About Those Who Could Have Prevented the Tragedy”: Shugyla Yeshen on Kazakhstan’s New Cinema

Kazakhstan’s Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was the scene of more than 450 Soviet nuclear tests, leaving a legacy of illness, environmental damage, and displacement that continues to shape the country. A new historical action film, Zheti Qaraqshy, reimagines that history through a group of seven young heroes who set out to prevent the tragedy. For 24-year-old actress Shugyla Yeshen, who plays one of the seven, the film prompted her to look more closely at a history she had known about since childhood. Yeshen also works at one of Kazakhstan’s leading Kazakh-language theaters and is beginning to develop projects of her own. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, she discussed the shortage of substantial roles for women, the discipline she learned in theater, her ambitions beyond Kazakhstan, and why her character goes into action armed with a slingshot. TCA: One of Kazakhstan’s most anticipated projects of the year, Zheti Qaraqshy, will be released on September 24. Tell us about the film and your character. Yeshen: Literally translated from Kazakh, Zheti Qaraqshy means “Seven Bandits,” but there is a play on words: it is also the Kazakh name for the Big Dipper. It’s a historical action film set in the 1980s. It’s about seven very different people who come together for one important mission. They all have very different personalities, but they’re interesting, and each of them has secrets. My character’s name is Gainy. She grew up in an orphanage with her foster brothers. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but at some point they become the heroes of one of the most important historical events. TCA: The film tells Kazakhstan’s history in the language of comic books. Is it a kind of Kazakh Suicide Squad? Yeshen: Probably, yes. Each of the seven has their own weapon. Mine, for example, is a slingshot. It seems like a childish, harmless weapon, but when you actually pick one up, it can be quite dangerous and hit a target very accurately. It all depends on who is holding it. I think that describes my character perfectly. Gainy is the same: she looks like a harmless girl, but in reality she is a strong and daring heroine. TCA: The film is connected to the tragedy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, where the Soviet Union conducted hundreds of nuclear tests. You belong to a very young generation of Kazakhstanis. How much did you know about this history before filming? Yeshen: Of course, I had known about it since childhood, but to be honest, I had never really gone very deeply into the subject. It was only when we started filming – and even after the film – that I began to fully understand what it was really about and how many lives the test site actually destroyed. An older colleague of mine said something I really liked. He said this film is a fantasy about a team of brave young people who could...

Art and Culture

Kanybek Kalmatov Interview: Kyrgyz Director Takes on Chinghiz Aitmatov

At 25, Kanybek Kalmatov is taking on a subject many older directors might have avoided: Chinghiz Aitmatov, Kyrgyzstan’s most internationally recognized writer and a figure deeply embedded in the country’s cultural identity. Kalmatov, a cinematographer and graduate of VGIK, the prestigious Moscow film school, is making his directorial debut with Aitmatov, billed as Kyrgyzstan’s first full-length feature film about the writer’s life and career. The project has already drawn attention beyond Kyrgyzstan, not least because Russian actor Sergey Bezrukov has joined the cast. For Kalmatov, the film is also personal. He first encountered Aitmatov as a schoolboy through The Little Soldier, and later found that even at film school in Moscow, Kyrgyzstan was often viewed through the writer’s name. Now, after months of research and nearly a year spent developing the screenplay, he says he is ready to take on a life that one film can only partly contain. The Times of Central Asia spoke with Kalmatov about why he chose a biopic rather than an adaptation, how he approached Aitmatov’s life at such a young age, and why he hopes the film will send younger viewers back to the writer’s books. TCA: You have chosen an ambitious project for your directorial debut. How did the film come about? Kanybek Kalmatov: Since childhood, there have been two stories I always dreamed of filming. The first is about my parents, because they have an incredible love story. The second is about Aitmatov. It wasn’t only his works that fascinated me. It was the scale of his personality, how determined he was and how many different things he managed to do at the same time. I fell in love with Aitmatov when I was about 12, after reading The Little Soldier. It’s about a boy whose father died in the war. Since then, Aitmatov’s works have always stayed with me. Even at VGIK, where I studied, people often saw me through that lens: “You’re from Kyrgyzstan? The homeland of Aitmatov?” For us, he’s not just a writer; he’s part of our cultural code. So I felt that, sooner or later, this film was bound to enter my life. TCA: Were you afraid the project might not work? Kanybek Kalmatov: No. Probably because I believe strongly in intention. Any big undertaking starts with that. If your motivation is right and you understand why you’re doing it, things begin to fall into place. From the start, my intention was pure. I never saw this film as a way to gain fame or prove something to anyone. I wanted to tell the story honestly of someone who means so much to our culture. TCA: Don’t you think one has to “grow into” Aitmatov first? Kanybek Kalmatov: There are topics you need to mature into. But if you wait for the perfect moment, you may never make anything at all. Maybe if I waited another 15 years, I would approach this story differently. Or maybe I’d never dare. Personally, I respect people who aren’t afraid...

TCA Interviews

From From Global Streaming to International Productions: Kazakhstan Filmmakers Go International

Makpal Kursabayeva is a sound engineer whose work has increasingly extended beyond Kazakhstan’s local film industry. Over the years, she has contributed to projects with international teams, from working alongside The Matrix cinematographer Bill Pope to taking part in series produced for global streaming platforms. Her career highlights the expanding role of Kazakhstani professionals in international production and shows that local crews can compete with their Western counterparts. Her work includes on-set recording, post-production, and sound capture in environments ranging from military airbases and nighttime steppes to urban locations. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, she discusses how the industry works and why crews from Kazakhstan are competitive in international productions. TCA: You are a highly experienced sound engineer, but most of your work has been on local projects. Do you think Kazakhstani specialists are competitive in the global market? Makpal: I have no doubt about it, however confident that may sound. Recently, we worked on an international series filmed in Kazakhstan by Turkish filmmakers. Many department heads were Turkish, but I led the sound department. We worked and communicated seamlessly; there were no barriers at all. And that’s always the case. I also worked on a commercial project for Chevron, where the cinematographer was Bill Pope, who shot the legendary film The Matrix, the Ant-Man films, Shang-Chi, and more. TCA: Was the entire crew international as well? Makpal: The second director was American. Playback equipment was brought from Moscow. It was a mix, bringing together the best. The Russian team even said that such sound equipment isn’t available in Moscow. Technically, we are not lagging behind at all. We also have plenty of talented and highly skilled professionals. TCA: Were they at all arrogant? Makpal: Not at all. Bill Pope was great to work with. He’s like a rock star, very open, loves music. We talked about ethnic music; I let him listen to the band Turan. He even asked me to play the dombra. I was a bit nervous because the executive producer was very strict, and I thought she might say I was disrupting the workflow. But he went to her himself and asked, and then she was the one chasing me to make it happen, so the question isn’t whether we can work at a Western level; we already do. TCA: You’ve also worked with German teams on Emir Baigazin’s films, and with French teams on projects by Yermek Shinarbayev and Akan Satayev’s epic Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe? Makpal: Yes. There was an interesting experience with one Western specialist, I won’t say from which country. I thought they had a different school and that I could learn from him. But while he was good on set, he wasn’t very strong in post-production. It even got to the point where I was teaching him, explaining how to properly edit sound and the technology behind it. Sometimes I would suggest something, and the next day those ideas would be presented as his own....

Yerkinbek Ptyraliyev

From VHS Tapes to Cannes and the Academy: Kazakh Cinematographer Yerkinbek Ptyraliyev on His Craft

Kazakh cinematographer Yerkinbek Ptyraliyev has built an international reputation through his collaborations with director Adilkhan Yerzhanov. Their film The Masters, released in 2014, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival and later screened at major festivals in Venice, Berlin, and other international venues. In 2024, Ptyraliyev became the first Kazakh cinematographer invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, he spoke about the role of a cinematographer, the technical challenges of filming night scenes in the steppe, and why the Kazakh school of cinematography is increasingly recognized as a distinct brand. TCA: You recently returned from the Berlin International Film Festival, where your team’s new film, Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Turghaud, was screened. What are your impressions? Yerkinbek: Very positive. Our film was received very warmly. There was an engaging discussion after the screening, and it is always valuable to receive immediate feedback rather than hearing reactions later. We sat in the theater and listened to what the audience was saying. It was especially interesting to hear their interpretations. There were many different perspectives. TCA: Does the perception of foreign audiences differ significantly from that of Kazakh audiences? When I watched the film, it seemed primarily aimed at a domestic audience. Yerkinbek: I think every filmmaker wants their work to be seen everywhere. I am convinced that cinema has no borders. This year, the Golden Bear at the Berlinale went to a Turkish film, a movie entirely in Turkish, about Turks and Turkey, but shot in Berlin. That did not prevent it from winning. Language and national context are not limitations; on the contrary, they are resources. We need to support them both in everyday life and in cinema. Adilkhan’s films are universal precisely because he speaks about issues that matter to any modern person. That is why they resonate beyond our own country. TCA: I remember receiving accreditation for the Cannes Film Festival as a journalist when Adilkhan Yerzhanov was invited there for the first time with the film The Hosts, which you shot. Did that open the door to major cinema for you? Yerkinbek: Absolutely. It was my debut film and such an immediate success. After that project, foreign directors began to notice me. For example, I started receiving invitations to work in Turkey, where I shot two contemporary dramas. The first passed relatively quietly, but the second attracted significant attention from Turkish audiences. It was directed by Nazif Tun. Until then, he had spent his career making television films and series, but that project was his feature-film debut. I watched his previous work, it was very close to cinematic language, even though he himself insisted it was television rather than cinema. TCA: Did you ever consider moving to Turkey? The market there is still larger than ours. Yerkinbek: No. In recent years I have not even had the opportunity to go there. First, the timing has not worked out. Second, not every story resonates with me. So far,...