Kazakhstani Filmmaker Zhanana Kurmasheva on Her Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site Documentary

Zhanana Kurmasheva is a Kazakhstani documentary filmmaker and graduate of the T. K. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, where she studied film directing. Her debut feature documentary, We Live Here, turns to the human legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site through the lives of people still living with its consequences. The film became the first documentary from Kazakhstan selected for competition at CPH:DOX, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals. Over the past year and a half, We Live Here has screened at international festivals and was nominated for Best Documentary Film at the 2025 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, Kurmasheva discusses why the story of the Semipalatinsk test site resonates with audiences around the world, what it was like filming on contaminated land, the growing interest in tours to the area, and why her next film will focus on consumerism. TCA: Zhanana, We Live Here premiered at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals. What did that moment mean for you? Zhanana: In the world of documentary cinema, CPH:DOX is one of the most prestigious festivals. Every filmmaker wants to be there because it showcases more than 200 of the strongest documentaries from around the world each year. Our film also became the first Kazakh project ever invited to compete in the festival. There were only 12 films in our section, and getting in was extremely difficult because the competition was intense. Being included in a program of that caliber came as a huge surprise to us. TCA: Why was it such a surprise? Zhanana: Honestly, when we were making this film, we never expected this level of success or invitations to so many festivals. By documentary standards, our project was produced on a very modest budget provided by Kazakhstan’s national film fund. The film was made largely through enthusiasm and dedication, without major international resources or influential foreign co-producers. We did everything ourselves. That is why I’m grateful for the opportunity CPH:DOX gave us. Participation there immediately brought international visibility to the film. TCA: What role did producer Banu Ramazanova play in bringing the film to international audiences? Zhanana: The fact that this film happened at all is largely thanks to our producer, Banu Ramazanova. She single-handedly promoted the film using her own resources. She believed in the project so strongly that she proved documentary cinema is worth investing in and that it can achieve a very high level. It’s wonderful that we have producers like her in Kazakhstan who genuinely care about the future of our documentary industry. TCA: Why do you think the selection committees responded to the film? Zhanana: It’s difficult for me to judge because we weren’t the ones making the selections. But if I had to guess, several factors played a role. First, Central Asia is still largely absent from the global documentary landscape. People know very little about our region, so any appearance of material from here naturally...