Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Executive producer: Nurassyl Jarbassov, Producer: Serik Abishev, Daniyar Alshinov, Ablaikhan Ashimov, Olga Khlasheva, Co-producer: Guillaume de Seille, Scriptwriter: Adilkhan Yerzhanov, Inna Ssmailova, Production: Short Brothers, Arizona Films, Kazakhstan/France, Language: Russian and Kazakh, 2021, 94′ (soon available as series), Rights: World
Karatas, a corrupted (and very remote) rural village is forced to deal with the coronavirus emergency and restricts its inhabitants’ freedom of movement. Selkeu Uashev played by Daniyar Alshinov (Infiniti) is a local police officer at Karatas village. He turns a deaf ear to lots of criminal offences and takes bribes he is not a man of high morals and can hardly be called a role model as a policeman. However, he is loved by local criminals and fraudsters. But one day the commission arrives from the city to declare a big audit all over the village due to the pandemic.
“Yerzhanov imbues his film with an overly absurd atmosphere and many whimsical characters.”
Davide Abbatescianni Cinemondo
Directors Note
“The film is made, in my opinion, in the genre of buddy-movie and noir. Why does it seem to me that it is these genres that are so attractive for modern cinema, there is a place for both psychologism and action. Perhaps, at first glance, these genres in the film are not obvious, but still, the main components are present and broadcast through the main character, whose main postulates are, on the one hand, a certain dark side. The hero Selkeu is roguish, unreliable, and slippery, but with all this, he has an inner core of kindness, which is exposed in the course of the development of events that take place in the film.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Cast
Daniyar Alshinov as Selkeu
Nurbek Mukushev as Zhamzhysh
Yerzhan Zhamankulov as Gurbeken
Assel Sadvakassova as Turiya
Bolat Kalymbetov as Bula
Directors Bio
Born in 1982 in Djekazgan in Kazakhstan, Adilkhan Yerzhanov studies at the Academy of national arts from where he graduated in 2009 in cinema production. After three remarkable short films, he directs several feature films: REALTORS (2011) is presented in international competition at the Dubai Festivals, Almaty and Porto Alegre. He gets the Prize
special jury in Kinoshock (Anapa) and St. Petersburg, the Grand Prix in Seoul and in Kinolikbek. He won the Kulager, Prix du
best Kazakh first film. CONSTRUCTORS is presented in competition in Wiesbaden then in Edinburgh in
2013. OWNERS is invited to a special session of the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival
in 2014 then obtained the Free Spirit Prize at Warsaw, a special mention at the Festival of Chicago, the NETPAC Prize at the
Beirut and the Special Jury Prize in Minsk. THE PLAGUE OF THE VILLAGE OF KARATAS is invited to Rotterdam in 2016 where he obtained the NETPAC Prize then in Sochi where he obtains the Grand Prix. NIGHT GOD is presented in competition at Moscow Festival in 2018. THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD is presented in the Official Selection of the Festival of Cannes, Un Certain Regard in 2018. ATBAI’S FIGHT is presented in competition in Warsaw in 2019 then in Friborg in March 2020. A DARK, DARK MAN is presented in San Sebastián Festival competition
in 2019 and received the Best achievement at the Asia pacific screen awards 2019. YELLOW CAT and Ulbolsyn are recent films and he has two more films in post-production.
Festivals
Main competition 2021 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival