29/01/2025 - Based on true events, the film follows several intertwined stories about the disempowerment of women, set against the backdrop of modern-day Kyrgyzstan’s patriarchal society

Atai Omurbekov (left) and Aliman Ryspekova in Kurak (© Erzhan Arakeev/Studio Oymo)

The team behind a new Kyrgyz-European co-production, titled Kurak, is now putting the finishing touches to this drama helmed by directorial duo Erke Dzhumakmatova and the late Emil Atageldiev.

Dzhumakmatova, a producer, writer-director and actress with over 25 years of experience in the film industries of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, chairs the Kyrgyz Association of Film Producers, serves as vice-chair of the Union of Cinematographers of Kyrgyzstan, and has been active at the Bishkek International Film Festival since 2023 as a committee member and CAF PITCH programme coordinator.

Atageldiev, an “Honoured Artist of Kyrgyzstan” and an award-winning musician, graduated from VGIK’s Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Directors in 2010, joined the Union of Cinematographers in 2014 and became a professor at the American University of Central Asia in 2018. Recognised as an Honoured Worker of Cinematography in 2020, he passed away in 2024 from osteosarcoma shortly after completing filming on the project.

Shot in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, the plot of Kurak follows a young woman who works secretly as a webcam model in a closed studio and becomes the target of blackmail by a law-enforcement officer. Terrified of public exposure, she is coerced into an intimate relationship with him. Meanwhile, a mother is devastated when her daughter, after being drugged and assaulted, takes her own life when photos and videos of the attack are shared online.

The assailant, the son of a powerful politician, evades justice despite the mother’s desperate attempts to hold him accountable. In a moment of despair and outrage, she decides to take drastic action. Interwoven with these stories are real-life news reports highlighting systemic violence and injustice against women. A news presenter, delivering these stories and pleading for justice, serves as a symbolic figure for the silenced voices of women in Kyrgyzstan left ignored and unanswered.

The script was penned by Dzhumakmatova herself - for the first time in Central Asia, a woman director is making a film about violence against women, positioning it as an important social drama railing against the patriarchal environment and mentality. The main cast is made up of Ainura Kachkynbek Kyzy, Aliman Ryspekova, Begaiym Asanakunova, Amangeldy Abdrahmanov and Atai Omurbekov. Key creatives include DoP Erzhan Arakeev, production designer Svetlana Dubina, composer Raffaele Petrucci, editors Nurdoolot Tashtanbaev, Anthony Akera and Alena Krivilla, casting director Eldiar Abirov, costume designers Shabdan Tokoev and Kanykey Kydyrmaeva, and make-up and hair artist Akylay Argynbaeva.

Kurak is set to be the biggest ever co-production in Central Asia in terms of the number of countries involved. It is being staged by Dzhumakmatova for Kyrgyzstan’s Studio Oymo, Kairat Birimkulov for Switzerland’s KBP, Katerina Tarbo-Ignatenko for France/Serbia’s Spirito Libero LLC, Pavel Feldman for the Netherlands’ Human Films and Alexandra Hoesdorff for Luxembourg’s Deal Productions. Co-producing are Milos Djukelic for Serbia’s Red Art Workshop, Paolo Maria Spina for Italy’s Revolver and Johann Chapelan for France’s Girelle Production. The project’s backers include the Department of Cinematography of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Central Swiss Film Specialist Group IFFG.

Philippines-based firm Fire and Ice, led by Liza Diño-Seguerra, handles its Asian rights and will be introducing it to national theatrical distributors and broadcasters at the upcoming European Film Market (13-19 February) in Berlin. The pic, currently in post-production, will be completed and ready to hit the festival circuit from late spring.