Aliya Nazarbayeva: “Tomiris” will show the Great Steppe spirit
The historical movie was ordered by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Kazakhstan.
As informed by Kazakhfilm, the creators of the movie told about the work done during the preparation period, presented the vanishing scenery, costumes, props and selected locations. Shooting will start in March.
General Producer of the movie Aliya Nazarbayeva stated complete readiness of the crew.
"This is the largest historical project in the history of Kazakh movie industry. All of us have treated this project with special responsibility. We expect to make this movie interesting for the wide audience and at the same time reflecting the millennial traditions, culture and spirit of the Great Steppe", Aliya Nazarbayeva said.
According to Film Director Akan Satayev the story line of the film is formation of the queen from the moment she was born till the legendary victory over Persian king Cyrus.
"Our main goal is to show a layer of the world history: the living, wars, art of the saki and massagetae and other tribes which lived in the Central Asia in the V-VI B.C. who are the far ancestors of Kazakh people. We want to demonstrate that the roots of the Kazakhs go back centuries", Akan Satayev said.
The vanishing scenery shooting was done in December 2017 near Zarechniy village of Almaty region. In March the shooting will continue at Kazakhfilm pavilion, where the birth of Tomirs will be shot.
The shooting period will last for four months and include other picturesque places of Kazakhstan: Zharkent, Chundja, Burabay and Bayanaul.
"Preparation period lasted for eight months. During this period we selected locations, shot vanishing scenery, conducted actor casting among 15 major cities of Kazakhstan. Over 15,000 people have applied. 1,500 people applied for the main role of Tomiris. Among 200 shortlisted applicants debutante Almira Tursyn was approved", producer Anna Chakirtova said.
Famous historian and consultant Almas Ordabayev told about the historical part of the project.
"Unfortunately the only information about Tomiris we have is that written by Herodotus - her win over Cyrus. But this is enough to make a feature film. Even though we have very little information about her life, we know enough about that historical period. "The valuable archeological finding "Golden Man" and other findings made by our archeologists and historians allowed to learn a lot about the life and level of that civilization. It was a union of tribes was a state formation with a complex society structure, hierarchy, ceremonies, realm symbolic - these and many other things we will have to reproduce in the film. I would like to note that many Kazakh traditions are from the Saki times", said the historian. 
Krym Altynbekov, another consultant and fine art restorer, who works on creation of ancient nomads' attributes notes that the movie should also show the role of metal in the every day life of the Massagetae.
The plot: A little girl is destined to become an artful warrior of the steppe - legendary Tomiris - and live through the loss of family, revenge the betrayers, and bring Saki tribes together under her rule. She will have to fight for the sake of her love and freedom of her people in the most ferocious fight of that time - with Cyrus who came to the steppe with the purpose of bringing the great steppe tribes under the control of Persian Empire.
