Two films by Kazakh directors won the main awards at the third Eurasian International Film Festival traditionally held in London. Thus, the screenplay for the film by Mansur and Maksut Sarsenbayevs “Hacked Future” was recognized as the best in its category. Another Kazakh director Dilshat Rakhmatullin beat more than 60 competitors. His work ‘A gray goose ‘A Swan’ won in the Best Animated Film category.
“It was the best screenplay category that showed that Kazakhstan is indeed ready for film production. We hope that the festival will bring this to the attention of producers and filmmakers and that in the future this will contribute to the co-production for international cinema. For me personally, the surprise was a great performance in animation,” said Marat Akhmedjanov, President, Eurasian Film Festival.
The Eurasian Film Festival has been held in conjunction with the popular Romford Film Festival since 2019. Its purpose is to promote films produced by the CIS and Central Asian countries. Every year the number of countries participating in the festival increases, so does the number of competition categories. Among them, besides competitions for the best feature, short and documentary films, such awards as ‘Best Screenplay’, ‘Best Animated Film’, ‘Best Music Video’ and ‘Best Film Shot on a Smartphone’. The members of the jury of the film festival shared their impressions from watching films presented by Kazakh directors.
“Salamatsiz ba? Men Kazakhstandy zhaksy koremin. I love Kazakhstan very much. I’ve lived, worked and traveled in Kazakhstan. There are films also from many other Eurasian countries, but I have a very deep connection with the film that has come from Kazakhstan that is represented in the Feature Film category, which is Baluan Sholak, which is an exceptional, epic historical film that really captures the spirits of the Kazakh soul from this period of time,” said Michael Daniel Sagatis, jury member.
Given the quarantine restrictions, most of the film festival nominees attended the ceremony online. However, it did not affect the beautiful atmosphere of the event. The festival also included an exhibition of children’s drawings, where the works of five young Kazakh artists were presented to the public.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
