“Ulbolsyn”, The film by Adilkhan Yerzhanov won the Work-In-Progress section at the Sarajevo Film Festival
The “Ulbolsyn” feature film directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov won the main prize in the Work-In-Progress section at the 26th Sarajevo Film Festival. This film festival, based in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was held online this year from 14 to 21 August. The shooting took place this winter in the Almaty region. The manufacturing company is Sunny Production (Kazakhstan) with the participation of Short Brothers (Kazakhstan) and Arizona Productions (France). At this stage, the film is in the post-production stage.
The main character of the new work of Yerzhanova, strong and strong-willed Ulbolsyn, lives in the city. Her younger sister Azhar is finishing school in the village of Karatas. Ulbolsyn has big plans for the future of her beloved sister – she saved enough money so that Azhar could enter a prestigious foreign university, which would allow her to further make a career and become free and independent. However, when she comes to Karatas for her, she discovers that the girl was kidnapped by the local healer Urgen, a respected person by the inhabitants of the aul, in order to make her his tokal – the younger wife. But Ulbolsyn does not intend to leave it this way, and she decisively enters the struggle with the patriarchal world of Karatas …
The general producer of the picture was Asel Sadvakasova, who also played the main role in it – Ulbolsyn. Let us remind you that Sadvakasova previously produced 2 more works by Yerzhanov – “Fight of Atbai” and “Yellow Cat”. The role of the sister of the main character Azhar was played by the young actress Dinara Sagi. Actor Erbolat Alkozha played the medicine man Urgen. The film also featured actors Berik Aitzhanov, Sanzhar Madi and Daniyar Alshinov. It is noteworthy that Alshinov appears in the episode in the role of detective Bekzat – his character from the film “Black, Black Man”. Yerzhan Dzhamankulov, Nurbek Mukushev and Yerken Gubashev, who are constantly collaborating with the director, also starred in the film.
– It always seemed to me that women are stronger than men in everything – in morality, in feelings. And creating a strong heroine in this film was a pleasure for me. It seems to me that Ulbolsyn and Asel Sadvakasova, who played her, are united by a certain inner core, they are both strong women, ”said Adilkhan Yerzhanov.
“Ulbolsyn” is the first experience of cooperation between director Yerzhanov and cameraman Azamat Dulatov. The script was written by Adilkhan Yerzhanov himself. Producers – Serik Abishev and Olga Khlashcheva. Co-Producer – Guillaume de Ciel. Associate Producer – Philip Che. Production designer – Ermek Utegenov. The composer is Alua Orentai.