Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema

ISSN: 1750-3132 (Print) 1750-3140 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rrsc20

Waves, Old and New, In Kazakh Cinema

Birgit Beumers
To cite this article: Birgit Beumers (2010) Waves, Old and New, In Kazakh Cinema, Studies in
Russian and Soviet Cinema, 4:2, 203-209
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/srsc.4.2.203

Published online: 06 Jan 2014.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 99

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rrsc20
Download by: [Arash BK]

Date: 02 September 2016, At: 18:08

Special Feature: Central Asia

Most of the Kazakh short-length entries avoid the fairer sex. When they do
portray women, as in The Thief, that representation is skewed by the heros
point of view. These same films also avoid the national theme of recent
ethnographic, traditional cinema from the older film-makers, i.e. the grand,
full-length features mentioned above with their Dolby sound, panoramic ethno-landscapes or scenes of ancestral village life. When questioned about the
absence of this national theme, Erzhanov adamantly asserted that because his
bloc grew up in the city, he wanted to make a film that reflects an existence
both he and his peers know inside out. Thats a plan well be sticking to.
This text is excerpted and adapted from the publication in KinoKultura, 24
(April 2009); all quotations are from post-screening discussions at Eurasia IFF
2008, unless indicated otherwise an all emphases are added.

REFERENCES
Abikeeva, Gul'nara (2008), 20 let Kazakhskoi novoi volne, Kinopro , 5,
pp. 2223.
Besturganova, Alima (2008), Korotkii metr: v formate drugogo iszmereniia,
Eurasia Kino, 9, pp. 2831.
Jameson, F. (1992), The Geopolitical Aesthetic: Cinema and Space in the World
System, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Kostevich, Irina (2007), Esche odno drugoe kino, interview with Darezhan
Omirbaev, Kinoman, 9, pp. 410.
Shipilova, Anna (2005), Astenicheskii sindrom, Kinoman, 3, p. 11.
Turarbekkyzy, Zeinet (2008), Rodilsia vtoroi Serik Aprymov?, interview with
Gul'nara Abikeeva, Kinoman, 8, pp. 1920.

WAVES, OLD AND NEW, IN KAZAKH CINEMA

Birgit Beumers, University of Bristol
Can we really talk about a New New Wave in Kazakh cinema, as claimed by
Inna Smailova (2008) and Jane Knox-Voina (2009)? Smailova first identified a
new generation of Kazakh film-makers in the programmes she coordinated
at the Eurasia Film Festivals of 2007 and 2008, while Knox-Voina passionately supports the students of the Zhurgenov Academy of Arts in their work.
I contend here that it is too early to speak of a new New Wave, or even a
new generation in Kazakh film-making. Above all, while there may be some
coherence of the perception of the world among young film-makers, as KnoxVoina and Smailova demonstrate, this alone is not enough to make a new
wave that would make a considerable and lasting impact on Kazakh cinematography. Let us recapitulate for a moment the emergence of the New Wave
of Kazakh cinema in the late 1980s, before we look at the context for Kazakh
film-makers in the Kazakh film industry today.

THE NEW WAVE

In 1983 Sergei Solov'ev selected a course at the Moscow Film Institute
(VGIK), consisting of a group of students from Kazakhstan; it included

203

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 203

7/19/10 10:27:48 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

Rashid Nugmanov, Darejan Omirbaev, Serik Aprymov, Ardak Amirkulov,

Abai Karpykov and Amir Karakulov. The course graduated in 1988, by which
time the students had developed a sense of community, sharing with Solov'ev
his interest in the young generation and in underground movements, or what
we might call today marginal groups (only that these groups then were on the
political rather than the social margins). Moreover, the course was released
into the professional arena at the height of glasnost and perestroika and during the emergence of the independence movements in the Soviet republics
that would culminate in 1991 in the collapse of the USSR. The impact of these
film-makers on cinema that of Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union and Russia,
and on the European festival circuit is significant. Nugmanovs Needle/Igla
(1988) became a cult film. Omirbaevs Kairat (1991) won the Silver Leopard
in Locarno 1992; his Cardiogram/Kardiogramma (1994) screened in competition in Venice in 1995; Killer (1998), co-produced with France, screened at
Cannes and had already won in the Certain Regard section before screening in competition in Karlovy Vary; The Road/Doroga/Jol (2001) screened at
Cannes, Toronto and Rotterdam. Aprymovs films participated in international festivals too: Terminus/Konechnaia ostanovka (1989) competed at
Locarno in 1990; Three Brothers/Tri brata (1998) won the Tokyo Asian Film
Award in 2000; Hunter/Okhotnik (2004) won the NETPAC award and screened
in competition at Locarno. Amirkulovs Otrars Death/Gibel' Otrara (1991) won
the FIPRESCI prize at Montreal. Karpykovs Fish in Love/Vliublennaia ryba
(1989) was a popular debut before he continued working in Russia, winning
the Best Actor award for The Headlight/Fara (1999) at Moscow. Karakulovs
Rival in Love/Rasluchnitsa (1991), another cult film of the New Wave, won the
FIPRESCI award at Moscow in 1991, and his Last Holidays/Poslednie kanikuly
(1996) received the Tiger Award in Rotterdam, as well as participating in the
Tokyo IFF in 1996.
The directors in the Kazakh New Wave shared the same educational
background and experience of training in Moscow, which appears to have
enhanced their understanding for their own culture. Moreover, they learnt
from Solov'ev how to observe life on the margins of society, where cracks
and crises are more visible than in the centre. The film-makers returned to
Almaty as a group, making their debut films at Kazakhfilm and defining the
ethos and aesthetics of Kazakh cinema for the 1990s: a cinema that focuses
on marginal groups and explores the roots of Kazakh culture in the village
or in pre-Soviet times; a cinema that engages with the young generation and
portrays types; a cinema that is experimental in form. The return of the entire
group to Kazakhstan at the time when the USSR was about to disintegrate
and Kazakhstan began to think about its identity added to the role they would
be able to adopt in the nascent Kazakh film industry of the early 1990s. This
process marks the formation of a new wave of film-makers, who speak for
the new nation, Kazakhstan, even if some would emigrate (Nugmanov), others would move into television (Karpykov) and yet others would remain in
Almaty to continue the New Wave, looking at Kazakh life through the lens of
a new future and a new national identity.
This situation is quite unique. Todays young film-makers find no such social,
political or educational context in Kazakhstan. Most film-makers nowadays train
at the Zhurgenov Academy for Arts, but also abroad: not only in Moscow, but
also in the United States. The link to Moscow, the former empires capital, is still
vital to allow for Kazakh (and other republics cinema) to thrive, because once
the Soviet Union collapsed, the national film industries had to struggle to stand

204

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 204

7/19/10 10:27:48 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

on their own feet something that is true both for Russia and the former constituent republics of the USSR. In the case of central Asia, they are slowly building
their own educational and infrastructural framework. A new New Wave may
be detectable in the new millennium by the number of films made, and by the
emergence of a few new names and young film-makers in national cinema and
on the international festival circuit. However, so far there are a good number of
young film-makers and students who have made largely short films; these were
deemed to be very talented and promising, often experimenting with docu-style
films (frequently the result of a lack of finances). Yet they have found no way
into proper professional production mechanisms. Moreover, the way in which
documentary techniques are deployed in this new cinema fit entirely into the
style of Russian and European cinema of the last few years, preoccupied with a
documentary approach and hand-held cameras to establish its authenticity, so
this is not a unique marker for a new cinematic trend. Young film-makers by and
large have no potential to make mainstream or art-house cinema, because of the
absence of a proper market for Kazakh films.

KAZAKHSTANS FILM INDUSTRY

In terms of production, the Kazakh film industry has undergone a similar crisis and reorganization as the Russian film industry during the 1990s. In 1997
Kazakhkino (the equivalent of Goskino) was dissolved, and in its place a
National Producers Centre was established to administer state funding for
films. At the same time, private production companies were launched, producing several films that were successful nationally and at international festivals. At
the same time the training for film-makers in Moscow was no longer deemed
suitable for citizens of the new republic, and in 1999 Kazakhstan saw the
first group of film-makers graduate from the KazGITIK (now the Zhurgenov
Academy of Arts). However, while the Russian film production recovered in the
new millennium, developing a distribution network which allowed the country
to rise to sixth place in terms of international film distribution, Kazakhstan also
rebuilt its infrastructure, but remained in a less strong position as far as distribution of its films national and international was concerned. While Russia
has produced its own blockbusters since 2004, making between five to eight
films per year that reach box office figures of $20$50 million, Kazakhstan cannot boast of such figures.
One of the reasons for the non-viability of Kazakh films in national distribution lies in low audience figures (Bel'gibaev 2009). A country with 15
million inhabitants, Kazakhstan counts some seven million cinema visits per
year. On average, a resident of Almaty would visit the cinema seven times
per year, while his counterpart in Astana would pay four visits to a cinema. A
mere 694,000 viewers saw Kazakh films in 2008. The figures are even worse in
percentages: among commercial releases, 1% of films watched were Kazakh,
99% foreign. When looking at all screenings (including festivals), then the
margin for Kazakh films is noticeably higher: 10% Kazakh, 90% foreign. There
is then clearly some demand for Kazakh films, but most are not commercially
released, because the profit margin is not high enough to justify the expenditure for the publicity and print costs where multiple film copies are necessary
for a theatrical release. The average box office therefore remains at $37,000 for
Kazakh films compared to $134,000 for foreign films. This indicates that even
foreign films do not fare spectacularly well in Kazakh distribution, and the
first problem suggests that cinema visits have to be made more attractive.

205

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 205

7/19/10 10:27:48 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

How well did Kazakh films fare? Racketeer/Reketir (Sataev, 2007) is the highest grossing Kazakh film in Kazakhstan to date, grossing $1 million at the box
office. This contrasts significantly with The Nomad/Kochevnik (2005), which
grossed $720,000. However, if we compare the figures to Timur Bekmambetovs
Irony of Fate: Continuation/Ironiia sud' by: Prodolzhenie (2007) the sequel to
El'dar Riazanovs Irony of Fate/Ironiia sud' by (1975) with $50 million at the
Russian box office alone, or with the first Russian blockbuster, Night Watch/
Nochnoi dozor (Timur Bekmambetov, 2004) grossing $16 million, it becomes
clear that we are talking about a different league of film markets (Bel'gibaev
2009). Bearing in mind that the Russian film industry could only recover after
achieving two-digit box office figures, the problem that Kazakhstan faces in
terms of the distribution of Kazakh cinema begins to take shape. It is impossible for Kazakh films to break even or make a profit on Kazakh audiences
and the national market alone: films need to appeal to the Russian market or,
even better, the international one, in order to bring in money, which will then
(one would like to think) enable the national studio to subsidize and support
the work of its talented young directors waiting in the wings while working on
advertising or exploring private production avenues.
In 2009 Kazakhstan produced fifteen films double of what it used to produce at the beginning of the millennium; nine were produced by Kazakhfilm,
five by private studios and one as a co-production (see Assonova 2009). Yet
Kazakh films did not fare well at the box office, even if they had international exposure. If we compare these figures for Russian films to the Kazakh
box office of some top festival films, the dilemma becomes even more obvious: Narymbetovs national epic Mustafa Shokai (2008) grossed $42,000;
Abdrashevs Pusan-opener Gift to Stalin/Podarok Stalinu (2008) grossed
$63,000; Amirkulovs Montreal entry Farewell, Gulsary/Proshchai Gul' sary!
(2008) grossed $29,500; and Guka Omarovas festival hit The Native Dancer/

Figure 1: Still from Racketeer.

206

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 206

7/19/10 10:27:48 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

Figure 2: Still from Racketeer.

Baksy (2008) grossed $14,000 (figures from Bel'gibaev 2009). These figures
underline the non-viability of Kazakh films to break even in Kazakhstan; as
they have a low chance of international distribution, they rely on film festivals for exposure. Even Sergei Dvortsevois debut Tulpan (Kazakhstan/Russia/
Germany/Poland, 2008), which won the Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes
International Film Festival in 2008 followed in the next two months by First
Feature at the London IFF; Oscar entry for Kazakhstan; Best Film at Tokyo
IFF; Discovery of the Year at Reykjavik; Best Film at Zurich FF; Best Film by
Asia Pacific Awards; Golden and Silver Peacock at Goa IFF; and Best Director
at Cottbus IFF was not successful in distribution. The film had an estimated
$2 million budget and made $150,000 at the box office.
In terms of infrastructure and cinema networks, the Kazakh film market
is run by several chains, including the Russian network StarCinema and the
Kazakh network Kinopark (Astana, Shymkent, Almaty and Aktobe), both
equipped with up-to-date projection technology and operating through
multiplexes. Whilst the number of cinemas is growing in Almaty (seventeen
cinemas), Astana has only recently acquired a multiplex (Kinopark) and has
no large festival cinema to speak of. Furthermore, specialized media publications have come under market pressure in the last two years: the professional
journal Kinoman has been stripped of its funding and had to close in 2008.
The national film studio, Kazakhfilm, has since launched its own publication,
Territoriia kino/Territory of Film, which is edited by Gul'nara Abikeeva and
available online.
At the level of the national film studio, Kazakhfilm, some serious
changes in management have taken place in recent years. In 2007 the studios head, Sergei Azimov, was dismissed and replaced by his deputy, Anar
Kashaganova. She was succeeded by Ermek Amanshaev, a former official at
the Ministry of Culture in Astana a man from the government. When the

207

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 207

7/19/10 10:27:49 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

Eurasia IFF, founded by the visionary Azimov in 1998, was held in Astana
in 2008 to mark the capitals anniversary, Amanshaev announced that the
festival would move permanently to Astana neither the centre of film production nor of culture (as much as the government might wish to see this).
The new festival, which would be renamed Astana (advertised for 1419
September 2009 in Territoriia kino, 1/2, 2009), was cancelled because of the
economic crisis. Moreover, the state budget for cinema was channelled into
several major projects that were designed to revive the Kazakh film industry
and put it on a commercial footing with films in the style of Night Watch
(rather than on the basis of national agendas, as has been attempted with
The Nomad and, on smaller scale, with Mustafa Shokai). After huge government investment the studio is now equipped for the full post-production
process and has attracted some star-studded names to boost the image of
Kazakh cinema.
The new mega-projects include Egor Konchalovskiis The Afghan/
Afganets; Timur Bekmambetovs Golden Warrior/Zolotoi voin; and a project
by Renat Davletyarov, former chief producer of the Moscow IFF and producer of such audience hits as Lovey-Dovey/Liubov'-morkov', entitled Irony
of Love/Ironiia liubvi (2010). The studio thus has put its stakes into co-production with major film companies, film-makers and producers. Having
commissioned a market survey by the Russian agency MRC, Kazakhfilm has
adopted a path to boost its production of blockbusters that could be sold
internationally.
In order to make films that break even, we turned to Timur Bekmambetov
who has a record of a number of successful projects, which have brought
considerable profit. When we signed the contract with him, we agreed
that the project would be commercial, so we would be able to recoup
production costs.
(Amanshaev in Assonova 2009)
Recent films include Ermek Shinarbaevs Astana, my Love/Astana, liubov
moia (series); scriptwriter Ermek Tursunovs debut film Kelin (2009), which
screened at a number of international festivals and is set in a pagan era, where
the directness of codes of life and death, love and animosity are explored
through a love story making a box office return of $15,000; Kurmanbekovs
Seker; a film by Akhat Ibraev and Farkhat Sharipov, both graduates of US colleges, entitled Tale of a Pink Hare/Skazka o rozovom zaitse (2010) about a boy
from the provinces who comes to the big city; Daniyar Salamats childrens
film Baiterek (2009) about a boy in search of his parents in Astana; and Amir
Karakulovs Internet romance Unreal Love/Nereal'naia liubov', co-produced
with Bazelevs, the company headed by Timur Bekmambetov. Moreover, several commercial films have been produced independently, including Akhan
Sataevs Brothers/Bratia and Zhanna Issabaevas comedy Omyrpai (2009).
Rashid Nugmanov is scheduled to remake The Needle. Bakhyt Kilibaev, a film
director from Kazakhstan who won fame for his advertising campaign for the
ill-fortuned pyramid scheme MMM, has recently made the television serial
The Gromovs for Russian television and is due to bring part of the third series
to his native Kazakhstan.
The setting of Astana as a new location for many films is noteworthy, as
is the absence of new names on the production schedule: what has become
of Adil'khan Erzhanov, Emir Baigazin, Serik Abishev, Talgat Bektursynov

208

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 208

7/20/10 11:05:58 AM

Special Feature: Central Asia

and others those talented students or graduates who showed their films
at the fourth and fifth Eurasia festivals and who were noted by national
and international critics as promising, spurring the talk of the New New
Wave? The national studio clearly has made a choice and placed its stakes
on renowned directors, whilst offering a chance to younger, but more established film-makers also. It is quite understandable that it is difficult to put
into production films by debutants at a time of financial crisis (the same
is true also for Russia); however, where in all this is the role of television,
which in Russia supports numerous projects through pre-sales or commissioning television films?
On the one hand, the strategy of the countrys largest film studio not
to promote central Asian cinema, and its own cinematography within this,
through a festival is regrettable and a huge oversight in terms of talent
development. On the other hand, the investment into large projects, which
might enable Kazakh film production to release films that make box office
profits, which allow the producer to break even or recoup production costs
(in order to achieve this, a films box office has to be much over the budget
figure, so that it can also be offset against the cost of publicity, advertising
and printing copies) may ultimately also facilitate a structure whereby profits could be channelled into art-house and non-commercial projects (and
festivals).
Some questions remain: whether there will ever be enough cinemas and
enough spectators to achieve such figures as can be reached by Russian films
in the Russian box office, or whether the region might want to think about
networks similar to Europa Cinemas, the EU-funded initiative that supports
cinemas screening European films (which will not usually do as well at the
box office as American blockbusters) in order to develop and support creativity in the region. And indeed, whether it is possible for the former Soviet
states to facilitate another rebirth of their national cinematography (following
the first wave of national studios founded after the war, but funded centrally
by the Soviet government, and the second, new, wave after independence)
and whether these nations cinematography can exist independently of each
other and of the former big brother, the Russian market.
This text is excerpted and adapted from the publication in KinoKultura, 27
(January 2010).

REFERENCES
Assonova, Anna (2009), V ozhidanii blokbastera, CentrAzia, 12, 1528
December, http://www.continent.kz/asia_12/13.htm. Accessed 14 January
2010.
Bel'gibaev, Saken (2009), Kino v tsifrakh. Itogi 2008 goda, Territoriia kino, 1/2,
pp. 1819. http://www.kazakhfilmstudios.kz/news/magazine. Accessed
14 January 2010.
Knox-Voina, Jane (2009), New New Wave Filmmakers Welcome Their
Audiences Discomfort: Kazakh and Kyrgyz Youth Films, KinoKultura, 24,
http://www.kinokultura.com/2009/24-knox.shtml. Accessed 14 January
2010.
Smailova, Inna (2008), Three Generations of Kazakh Cinematographers:
Action Reaction Change of Reality, KinoKultura, 19, http://www.
kinokultura.com/2008/19-smailova.shtml. Accessed 14 January 2010.

209

SRSC_4.2_Special Feature_187-244.indd 209

7/19/10 10:27:50 AM