“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...
