Kazakhstan & Kyrgyz Republic
Kazakhstan & Kyrgyz Republic
May 11-28, 2009
Filmmaker: Margaret Brown, The Order of Myths
Expert: Harrison Engle
Delegate Report
by Harrison Engle
Kazakhstan
Almaty
Two weeks of intense preparation led my departure on May 14 for New York City, where I was joined by filmmaker Margaret Brown. Then we flew on to Frankfurt, Germany. After nearly 20 hours in the air, we landed in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. After a few hours rest, we had a lunch meeting with Gabrielle Guimond, the Branch Public Affairs Officer in Almaty, and Leila Aitmukhanova, Cultural Affairs Assistant.
Our next week was an intense series of screenings, Q&A discussions with the public social gatherings and presentations for students and filmmakers. Kazakhstan, a former Soviet Republic in Central Asia, is the ninth largest country in the world, and has a mix of mountainous regions and vast steppes. The landscape mirrors the sensibilities of these people, onetime nomadic travelers on the Silk Road. To our surprise, the American Documentary Showcase Film Festival screenings were held in a modern movie multiplex in the local mega-mall.
in the town of Semey, Kazakhstan
Opening night films were Flow: For Love of Water and Margaret’s signature film, The Order of Myths. Both films were well received, though the audience needed and wanted some explanation and context about the themes. Margaret and I fielded many questions about American docs generally. No, they are not funded by the government. Yes, it is hard to get documentaries made and distributed. Yes, they do provide an invaluable cultural service by exposing –– shining a light –– on issues about which the filmmaker feels passionate. Local citizens seemed delighted to be able to ask us questions in an open and direct forum, and they often spoke at length. Helping with the presentations was the knowledgeable film critic and programmer of the Eurasia Film Festival, Gulnara Abikeyeva.
Over the next few days, we introduced and/or discussed other Documentary Showcase films. Some issues covered in the films directly pertained to Kazak interests, such as the use of water resources, as seen in FLOW. Other films in the program didn’t seem to mean much to people culturally. Despite an occasional mis-match, audience members welcomed us personally and seemed to appreciate our directness. One of the favorite films was Mel Stuart’s The Hobart Shakespearians, which was appreciated by the general audience and, later, at a children’s library, was enjoyed by an audience of teachers and educators.
Between screenings, Margaret and I and our State Department hosts visited some of the local sites, including the famous (sometimes infamous) Green Market, where seemingly everything can be bought and sold. We were warned to watch our valuables.
We showed samples of our films in a documentary workshop for young filmmakers at the local Academy of Fine Arts. The Branch staff, Gabrielle, Leila, coordinator Elmira Kireyeva and translator Dasha Abikeyeva, were all were very bright, energetic and genuinely fun to be around. Gabrielle arranged for a lovely dinner, overlooking snow-capped mountains, with Kazakh filmmakers. This let to our visit to the Soviet-era film studio, and tea with director Darezhan Omirbayev, whose 2001 film, “The Road,” earned a top prize at Cannes.
university class in the town of Semey, Kazakhstan
In Almaty, we were also pleased to meet director Igor Gonopolsky and his wife Zhanna, a charming couple who invited us to their studio home to discuss documentaries over tea, dried apricots and chocolates. Igor is a noted filmmaker, who in 1998 made the documentary, Eisenstein in Alma-Ata: 1941-1944. His film, which is on the U.S. National Film Registry, is an exploration of the WWII years of famed Russian directors, Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin, who lived in a flat in this city during the harsh war years. Alma-Ata (now Almaty) was where Eisenstein directed his great historical epic, Ivan the Terrible. As a documentary maker, Igor has some of the flair of those directors in his vigorous style and dark romanticism.
Ust-Kamenogorsk
On May 20, we flew to Ust-Kamenogorsk, where we gave additional presentations at local universities and libraries. In separate sessions, Margaret again screened The Order of Myths. I showed a short reel of scenes from six of my films, as well as my documentary, Obsessed with Vertigo. Often, we gave out copies of IDA’s magazine, Documentary. The students we encountered were warm and very receptive, and appreciated the handouts. The sessions often ended with group photos.
Semey
A two-hour drive to the smaller city of Semey was one of the highlights of Kazakhstan. At a local university, Margaret’s film was seen by more than 100 students, followed by a vigorous Q&A session. I think that Margaret and I at last began to feel comfortable with this interaction, which was really helped by our adept translator, Leila. At my event, I was greeted by 20 students in their colorful, gold-turbaned, native costumes. We also visited the museum home of Dostoyevsky, and a stark memorial for the Kazakh nuclear test victims during the Soviet era.
Kyrgyz Republic
Bishkek
On Sunday, May 24, we were driven four hours across remote countryside to Bishkek, the largest city in Kyrgyzstan. Here, we worked with the resourceful and cheery embassy team: Michael Rosenthal, the Cultural Affairs Officer, Cultural Affairs Assistant Kamila Kojokmatove and Public Affairs Assistant Munara Munduzbaeva. Elita Asankulova was our expert, a fabulously funny and cynical translator for most of the events. The American Documentary Showcase Festival was based at the antique, but charming Dom Kino Theatre. Over the next week, we introduced /presented/discussed, among other films, The Order of Myths, The Sputnik Moment, The People’s President, Beginning Filmmaking, A Man Named Pearl and Empowering the Yard. At a film school, we met a fascinating group of older Soviet-era documentary filmmakers, as well as a number of promising young students.
Osh, Kara-Balta, Jalal-Abad
Margaret and I both seemed to relate to the more easygoing style in Kyrgyzstan. We also found our rhythm speaking before the public, despite the cultural differences. Another airplane flight, over dramatic snow-peaked mountains, took us to the city of Osh for more university presentations. In separate trips, Margaret went to Kara-Balta to speak. I was driven to the rustic town of Jalal-Abad, where the main road was blocked by a large herd of cattle! There was a deep sense of history and mystery to this town and, after our program at the American Library Corner at a university, our group visited the ancient Muslim Uzgen Mausoleum and Tower.
Arriving back in Bishkek, the concluding event was an elaborate dinner feast hosted by the head of the Ministry of Culture for Films, and a local film studio owner. We were all obliged to stand and propose fulsome toasts to our shared experiences and common love of cinema. We gave it our best as our host downed at least 10 powerful vodka shots! We all vowed that this was only the beginning of new Kyrgyz/American film friendships.
Conclusions
This was without question a rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I certainly believe that the Showcase was an effective tool for the State Department. We seemed to build bridges with many citizens of these two countries, who were eager to learn and interact substantively with Americans.
an American corner library at a small university in Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan
I believe that Margaret and I communicated well with members of the general public, and the students/filmmakers we encountered, in both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Often, during the Q&A sessions, people would begin warily, and then warm considerably. Filmmakers, in particular, seem to understand each other well and relate to mutual concerns. Our societies and ways of doing things, however, are very different. Hopefully we were able to build positive bridges with all the people we met. We worked very hard to communicate American values positively to citizens in these countries, as well as to appreciate their own cultures. “Critical thinking” was a point we tried to subtly encourage.
I’ve already communicated with some of the people that I met during this exciting two-week period. I’ve exchanged films with some of the artists, and have seen their work as well. I do feel that in the future their work will inform my own.