Kazakhstan: Montage of Cinemas in New York
A land of superlatives, from its dramatic topography to its position as a geopolitical crossroads within Central Asia, Kazakhstan's film culture in the post-Soviet era has given rise to a generation of filmmakers and a plurality of film forms that display the country's kaleidoscopic sense of identity and its increasing cultural engagement with the world, Kazinform refers to the News Bulletin of the Kazakh Embassy to the US.
Once a center of Soviet film production activity, whose landscapes grace the iconic Ivan the Terrible by Soviet master Sergei Eisenstein, the modern nation, with its complex checkerboard of ethnicities and its unique conjunction of defining national narratives, fuels cinematic statements that artfully construct and necessarily test the ideal of "the nation." Working across an array of genres, filmmakers inscribe depictions of ethnic and tribal identity, clashes between tradition and modernity, and the legacy of Soviet rule and the momentous economic transformations of the post-Soviet era.
Bold cinematic voices, martialling both Kazakh and international resources, offer innovative storytelling modes, as well as engagements with world cinema's most well-traveled genres, finding acclaim and commercial success as the Kazakh national cinema assumes its place on the world stage. With this series, we are pleased to survey some of the leading films and filmmakers of this moment; to screen select titles from the longer history of Kazakh cinema, in new and restored prints, and to open our series with a live musical celebration on June 10.
Special thanks to: His Excellency Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Washington, D.C.; Steven-Charles Jaffe, Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in Los Angeles, Helix Films; Gaukhar Noortas; Kevin Foo; Zarina Mamyrkulova; Kazakhfilm JSC; Oxenuk Films; Cineteca di Bologna; Fortissimo Films; Zeitgeist Films; Air Astana; Palisades Tartan.
To learn more visit http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-06-10/kazakhstan-montage-cinemas