Students, Alumni, and employees of AUCA meet with the Director of the movie Kurmanjan Datka

September 30, 2014

Kurmanjan Datka: Queen of the Mountains has been out in Kyrgyz cinemas for the past few weeks and its momentum is only growing. A story about the woman who had to unite her nation and maneuver between competing forces has resonated with audiences worldwide. It had its world premiere at the Montréal World Film Festival, where it was selected as one of the Best Of the Festival by Cult Montreal. It was celebrated by standing ovations and due to popular demand, had additional showings. The film, dubbed a “haunting poetic piece” by the Montreal Gazette, continues to be at the top of Kyrgyzstan cinemas and director Sadyk Sher-Niyaz hopes that it in the future it will have a global audience.

This past weekend on Saturday, September the 27^th together with the assistance of director of the movie, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz and producer, Farhad Begmambetov the students, New Generation Academy (NGA) students, AUCA Alumni and AUCA employees were able to attend a special showing of the film at the Manas theatre for 80 soms. The Following the film, the director took the stage and gave a short speech on the movie to the students. The excitement continued, as the students were able to ask questions of the director and take photos with him outside.

We talked to several students about what they thought of the movie afterwards. NGA student Aizirek Kamyrova told us that it was “beautiful,” and that it was her “favorite movie about [and from] Kyrgyzstan,” a sentiment shared by many of those we talked to. And although they knew of the history and events that transpired in real life, they were still “surprised” and “excited” by the movie. Another common thread was the emotional reaction. NGA student Nurzhamal Yrysbekova told us “everyone cried” during the movie and that it instilled a “patriotic spirit” as well. It was not only Kyrgyz who shared this reaction however, as an American I was perhaps not brought to the point of sobbing; but still had to fight back tears at certain moments during the film. A high point of the movie as Nurzhamal told us was its success at objectivity in certain things. She told us that she “enjoyed the way the Russian side was shown,” as in the film there was “one good side and one bad side later.”

I was excited to attend the screening as well, although I had some apprehensions about the film. I was worried that, as a movie supported by the government and being about Kyrgyz national history, it would not be objective and would play out like a ‘government’ film instead of a dramatic and independent one. This was my biggest fear, but another would be production value, as I knew the budget was a mere 1.5 million USD. My fears were allayed however when I finally sat down to watch the film. I couldn’t see anything indicative of its miniscule budget, if I didn’t know beforehand I would have assumed it ranged in the dozens of millions.

That goes for everything involved. From the cinematography and sound design to the acting and writing, it was at the same time surprising and superb. As a historical epic it must maneuver through a minefield of objectivity, historical accuracy, and engagement with the audience. And it does so without too many scratches. My fear of it being a ‘government’ movie was washed away. To me the greatest achievement was including the vast amount of characters and events necessary to portray the overarching idea, which spans dozens of years and as many as four different actresses for one role over time, and at the same time not losing the audience in the intricacy. Still I am able to recall the characters and scenes, which is a feat for any movie. Perhaps even better than the movie itself is what happened afterwards.

We, my colleague Gulazor and myself, were able to sit down afterwards and talk with the director, Sadyk Sher-Niyaz for an extended time. We were surprised to learn that this was his major debut film, having only worked on short films prior. Asked about the different aspects of the film, he said, “There is not just one line in the film. There is sacrifice, love, human rights, and more.” Continuing in this idea of duality and combination of ideas, I asked him about how he balanced historical accuracy with a sense of Kyrgyz pride and if it affected him; “Both sides are in the movie. Kyrgyz people are following and leading. They are betraying and following. Truths are true,” he replied. He said something similar about his role as an artist, regarding how certain groups or people are portrayed, “[I] don’t want art to be negative about other nations. It is not the job of an artist.” He spoke of a constant striving for objectivity.

He also gave his opinions and on the state of the Kyrgyz film industry and where it is headed. He mentioned how it is has grown, from the “Kyrgyz miracle” films of the 1960s to today. He hopes that Kurmanjan Datka will “[inspire] more young people to study film in different aspects of film specialization, cinematography, sound, writing. I think it will become more professional…a new wave of moviemaking will happen in Kyrgyzstan.”

He told us about the shooting schedule and how the mountains offered only a small window of opportunity, about tigers from Moscow, his future film ideas, and many more topics. He even shared his past as a filmmaking student and politician with us, and how he decided to one day drop everything and pursue his dreams of moviemaking in Moscow. Look for an article later detailing our interview with him as well as his future appearance at AUCA, and make sure to see Kurmanjan Datka!

For those who don’t know Russian or Kyrgyz, the Manas theatre in Bishkek has showing with English subtitles at 6:40 PM everyday. 

By Aaron Chalmers

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