Best Kazakhstani movies

Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

This is the story of the life of the great queen of the steppe - legendary Tomiris. She is destined to become a skillful warrior, survive the loss of close people and unite the Scythian/Saka tribes under her authority.

A young woman, Aliya, catches the lustful eyes of several powerful men and is thrust against her will into a vast criminal ocean. As passion, violence, and turmoil swirl around her, she finds herself on the brink of death, and only her true love can rescue her.

Dastan can no longer stand the constant nagging of his highly pregnant wife and decides to run away for at least one day with his friends. The men go fishing, which would have gone smoothly, if not for a series of unforeseen events.

Story of a man named Sayan, that had to live through harsh 1990s and make tough decisions.

This is a survival story - a Hemingway's 'Old Man and the Sea' as if written for our days.

Living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, a young man is preparing to become a bus conductor. One day, in between wandering the city streets and going to the movies, he makes the acquaintance of a female student.

A universal story about the freedom of the human spirit and the struggle against slavery and despotism, about love, loss and betrayal. It is seen through the eyes of simple Kazakh kids and teenagers.

Tamara is searching for her missing son in a small town consumed by riots and violence. In a desperate attempt to get him back, she decides to offer a reward to an amoral former investigator whose methods prove to be sadistic. Determined, Tamara decides to complete the mission with the nihilistic detective, no matter what the cost.

In the 1920-30s, 70% of the indigenous population died from the Great Famine created by the Bolsheviks in Kazakhstan. Overcoming the dreadful fear of death and despair, an eagle hunter's family from a Kazakh village in the highlands is trying to stay alive in the midst of the fierce winter and face a moral choice, to die as human beings or to survive at any cost, transgressing the human decency.

Alma-Ata, 1987. The protagonist of the film is 16-year-old Arsen, who moves from the suburbs to the city center and goes to a new school. At the new school, he makes friends with classmates who are active participants in the so-called "District Movements". Along with this, Arsen faces street, teenage hierarchy and violence. And before him there is a choice, to become like everyone else or to remain true to himself.

Zhomart and his relatives work at the hotel and periodically get into various comical situations.

A drama about messed up athlete who tries to regain his career.

The picture reveals the problem of drug addiction in contemporary life. Drug addiction can be resisted by strong character young people while others lose everything: friends, love and life. Metiss is a talented rapper, who managed to overcome drug addiction, but paid high price for it losing the girl he loved. One day, he comes across Linda, a young woman whom he tries to save.

Four childhood friends decide to risk "dirty" money. When transferring money, the son of the mafia leader is killed. Who is the killer? The mafia hires a hunter killer who is trying to track down the fugitives and the missing money…

Тrue Kazakh girls don’t marry Russians. This is what grandma Zeinegul believes in. But her beloved granddaughter disobeyed her will. Many years later the girl comes back to Kazakhstan. Her mother drinks, her grandma prays, her father got married again, but she wants to take a picture of her whole family, just like the one they took years ago when she was a child. The picture of the family she loves and hates so much.

Heartwarming animated short about the misunderstood behavior of a street dog, and the motivation behind it. But is it too late for the people know the reason why??

The film is about a brother and sister who struggle with life’s difficulties. Boys for the health of the mother do what they can. They do not choose the easy way and achieve everything honestly.

Provincial guy Yerlan is a 3rd—year student of one of the Almaty universities. He came to the city hoping to succeed in the future. However, the environment of the golden youth, where he got, turned out to be difficult. It has its own laws, its own rules, and in order to preserve its moral principles, many things will have to be relived and experienced.

Ex-con Kermek and his beloved Eva want to leave their crime-infested lives on the Kazakh steppes behind. He has a dream: building a movie theater in the mountains. Will Kermek's love of Alain Delon be strong enough to keep them out of the violent clutches of the mafia?

A lonely Russian man is trying to see his daughter, who lives with her mother far away in the USA.

Yerken is nine years old and lives alone in a remote village in the mountains. When his older brother returns after a long absence, the young boy’s heart leaps with joy. But it doesn’t last long, his older brother has become a cold and heartless person… Serik Aprymov was born in 1960 in Kazakhstan and studied film at the Moscow Film School (VGIK). Along with other young directors from his country, he became part of the “new wave” of Kazakh cinema. At the Locarno Film Festival in 2004, he presented Okhotnik (The Hunter), in which a young boy suffers the contrast between the traditions of his people now on the decline and the progress of an increasingly urbanized new society.

A modern parable about three brothers whom life has divided as they each went their separate ways. Of their happy childhood and adolescent years together, only a black-and-white photograph remains, capturing the three young men at a table in front of their family home, and memories of the greenhouse that was their father's pride.

The popularity of a cheap synthetic drug, mephedrone, is growing at an alarming rate in the country. The authors of the film will shed light on new forms of drug trafficking, collect a portrait of the consumer and demonstrate how his image is romanticized in modern media among young people.

Three friends serve in special forces, their daily tasks are to confront dangerous criminal groups. In one of the confrontations they will have to test their friendship.

A drama about formation of famous Kazakhstan boy band 'Ninety One'.

The father of the family, Nursultan Kopzhasarovich, respected in society, owns the entire farm in the village, so his only son Bolat grows up careless and spoiled, which more than once leads to problems and even criminal liability. At another drinking party, Bolat rapes a local school graduate. The father wanted to hush up the matter again, but the girl’s parents had already filed a statement with the police. The only way out of this situation is a wedding, but the life of the family turns into a real nightmare.

An alien visited Earth 20 years ago to leave a device for collecting information about the planet's resources. When he returns for the data, his ship crashes in Kazakhstan, where by chance the alien meets Sholpan. She helps him fix the ship, unaware that the alien's true mission is to take over the planet for resources.

Gaukhar is pregnant, and Aidar seems to have finally found a common language with his wife's brothers. But everything changes when the main character is faced with an unusual illness. Kuvad's syndrome - an imaginary pregnancy in men - can completely destroy Aidar's plans and even his marriage.

1997, Aman, an ordinary guy, an honest husband and a doctor. He tries to live honestly and be an example to others. Everything changes when he is unjustly kidnapped and sold into labor slavery.

Sayan has survived the accident but 10 years later the past comes after him.

Gaukhar has five overprotective brothers who don't let her marry anyone so she deals with the toughest decision in her life: family (brothers) or marriage?

The primitive tribe needs nothing, spends their time uselessly, and lives off another tribe next door who works hard to make supplies. One day the latter disappears, so the idlers face a difficult task... They have to decide: to work on their own or find fugitives, and they choose the second option.

Didar is a poet, but he cannot live from his poetry. He has to write early in the mornings before setting out for his day job as a newspaper editor. Didar is surrounded by a sense of crisis, not just because of his economic situation but also due to discussions at work about the diminishing significance of Kazakh culture, dying languages, and the worldwide dominance of English. He is questioning whether poetry is still relevant in today’s world, but finds solace in contemplating a rebellious 19th-century poet, Makhambet Otemisuly.

A young woman, working late at night in an empty office, starts receiving creepy videos via AirDrop from an unknown sender.

The anti-corruption Organization and the best virologists of the country find the "virus of corruption" in the blood of ruthless corrupt officials. And they create a vaccine against the virus. Two candidates are found for verification: Ardaev, the prosecutor general of the city, a big bribe taker, and Ruslan, the director of a nursing home, the most honest person in the country.Ardaev is secretly injected with a vaccine, and Ruslan is infected with the "corruption virus". The lives of the test subjects are changing dramatically, and the virus is getting out of control.

Events in the "Businessmen" unfold in the era of the 90's, when the country is experiencing an economic crisis. Heroes of the film are among the first who stood at the origins of market relations in Kazakhstan.

Gauhar gives birth to twins, but Aidar's doubts about fatherhood jeopardize their relationship.

A desperate clerk robs the bank where he works at.

Following an old nomadic tradition 'Bauryna Salu', a boy Yersultan, was given after his birth to be raised by his grandmother. He grew up with resentment and disconnection from his parents. When he turns twelve, his grandmother dies and he has to move back with his family which he barely knows. Yersultan's coming of age process coincides with an unbearable transformation and an attempt to restore the relationship between him and his parents, especially his father.

The film takes place in the desolate Kazakh steppe, on the grounds of a former nuclear testing site, where two ecologists conduct research to identify radioactive areas unfit for habitation. Nearby, an eyewitness to the nuclear tests writes down his personal memories, while his son struggles to save his sick daughter. Through the intimate story of three generations of one family, the film reflects on humanity's collective history and the dire situation facing our future. The steppe serves as a metaphor for our planet, now perilously close to becoming a vast nuclear wasteland.

Ugly, illiterate and an uncommunicative “graduate” of the city orphanage, Nagima is a young woman whose life offers little potential for success or even happiness. Nagima rents a tiny room on the outskirts of the city of Almaty with her fellow orphanage “graduate” the pregnant, and equally isolated, Anya. In the midst of giving birth to her child, tragedy strikes and Anya dies. Never knowing her mother, the newborn girl must be submitted to the orphanage and so Nagima sees the vicious cycle of life in repetitious action and becomes severely depressed at the cruelty of life.

Akkyz (The White Girl) is a modern retelling of an ancient Kazakh legend about the creation of the world from the eggs of the Sacred White Swan. Nine-year old Aruzhan lives in harmony with nature on a deserted island, together with her mother and brother.

The family of repatriate Saparkul return to their historic homeland: cross the border post «Turkmenistan», enter the courtyard of the migration police, pass registration and other formalities - hand on his heart, listen to the anthem of Kazakhstan, wipe the tears of surging emotion, even the wife removes her veil. It is home to free women ... Then the road to the south of the country - to the station Tore-Tam. They will live there.

A well-functioning criminal scheme for theft and sale of mirrors fails when one of the thieves kills the car owner who has caught him. All the city's police forces are dispatched to capture the gang. But the main witness to the crime turns out to be familiar with the murderer and plunges herself into painful doubts, without betraying him. The girl is unaware that the other witness to the murder is the leader of the "Mirrors" gang.

Fifteen year old Mustafa has a nickname Schizo. He is hired by his mother’s boyfriend to find fighters for illegal fistfights. His life is changed forever when a young man mortally beaten in one of the fights asks Schizo to deliver his prize money to his girlfriend and young son. Schizo takes the money to the woman as promised and falls in love with her. Now he knows for whom he has to make money, no matter what the cost. In fistfights there are no rules… until blood is spilled!

Egemen, who makes a living by stealing scrap metal, has a secret lover, Meyerim. She was kidnapped, married, and then divorced with her daughter, so Egemen is unable to proudly introduce Meyerim to his family.

Almaty, our days. Sophomore Aldiyar finds out that he is being expelled from the university, and in order to prevent this from happening, he must find a large sum for restoration in a short time. Fearing that his strict father will find out about the deduction, he decides to earn the necessary amount and gets a job as a courier for a synthetic drug store. Aldiyar successfully distributes drugs and gets into the taste, forgetting about his goal. With the appearance of money, a dream girl and a dishonest policeman pay attention to him.

In the 16th century, during the Kazakh Khanate, Kasym Khan was the fourth ruler, often viewed as the greatest leader to unite the Kazakh tribes.

Aliya, a 36 year old Kazakh lesbian, has, for the first time in her life, tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay. On one hand, Aliya is tired of the stagnation, corruption, and dictatorship of the Kazakh society, she wants changes in her life. But on the other, she is afraid of uncertainty and to start all over again in a foreign country.

Once upon in a time in Taraz, a bunch of friends goes to night club and find themselves in a tricky situation after conflict with son of local mobster.

The main character, his wife and small son lose their way and become stuck on a country road. As a result, they have to spend the night in their car. The following morning, the main character awakens alone, his wife and son having mysteriously disappeared. His preliminary searches bring the hero to a small lonely house, in which an old man and a young woman live. It seems that these strange tenants know about him and his family but try to hide their knowledge. For what reason?

A story about the harsh times during colonization and famine of the 1930’s. The main character, gravedigger Isatai, played by Yerkebulan Dairov, will find himself faced by a hard choice that will predetermine the fate of his village.

Pyshka, a charming young woman, is passionate about fashion and delicious cuisine. Her designs get regularly selected, yet go uncredited, by the fashion house designer she’s working for. Everything changes when Pyshka receives a mysterious gift from her grandmother. A gift that transforms Pyshka, and lets her find true love—for herself.

A young major named Azamat, accustomed to a comfortable city life, by coincidence, is sent to work as an akim in a remote village.

A new mayor seeks the origins of a mysterious illness that is running rampant throughout a remote village.

The main morality is the chronic desire for rest Within the historians, filmmakers, astronomers and the bread Which once was dough front to back Relationship stops along the way You are not a wax-work in a glass Become the concept of freedom Freedom exists and must bring fruit The universe glancing for purchase reasoned

A family lives in a remote Kazakh village. There are five sons. The oldest, Aslan, becomes the father’s deputy in charge of all the work and delegating tasks to his younger brothers. Fair and humane, he sympathises with his siblings when they err, and accepts the father’s blame for them. One day Aslan takes the children to the river, a moment of happiness as the river is deep enough for a real swim. Since then, life is different. The children become more diligent in their daily chores, while the river turns into the focus of their lives.

Tolla is an unemployed translator whose wife is leaving him. Despondent and weak, he submits to the suggestion of an acquaintance to have a contract placed on the man that his wife is seeing. Instead, however, he arranges for the hit to be placed on himself. Before the contract is executed, he develops a relationship with a prostitute, and then changes his mind. In order to survive he takes the obvious course of action, which turns out to have possibly been unnecessary, and then he must deal with the guilt.

Mukhtar, experiencing a mid-life crisis, has a job, a house, a family, and credit. He is convinced that it's all the fault of his early marriage. Soon the man wakes up in a luxurious surroundings as a wealthy businessman, but the price for such a transformation is his relatives. Now his best friend is the head of the Mukhtar's former family...

A story about five best friends who left their village to make a fortune in big city.

While the district administration prepares for the arrival of high-ranking guests, local alcoholic Sadyq Ospanovich solves intergalactic problems. Two large-scale events, developing simultaneously, lead to an inevitable conflict. The life-weary saleswoman Nadezhda and the naive policeman Baur find themselves between two fires.

This is the story of a young woman, Aiganym, who was born into the Orthodox Kazakh family from the South of Kazakhstan. When she was a student at the college in the capital city of Kazakhstan, she gave birth to a boy. Right after giving birth, her family cursed her and rejected her and her newborn son because she was a single mother. After seven years, Timur, her son, was not able to accomplish his homework assignment “to draw a family tree”. Aiganym decides to return to her parents’ house, so that her son has a big family. Regardless of the fact that each time, she wants to return, her eldest brother beats her up, she keeps on returning home again and again…

Seker is a girl who was raised as a son by a father who wanted his first child to be a boy as tradition in the countryside family demands. When Seker approaches the age of adolescence she faces a mandate from the local school: put on a dress or don't return. So finally gaining her father's permission she turns from a fist-fighting boy into a blossoming young girl.

Suddenly laid off from a factory staffed by deaf-mute people, Sveta’s house loan pushes her into a highly unethical line of work.