November 15, 2023
On September 12, the program of presentations and a block of films from Central Asian countries #SEARCH was opened by Nuran Chukubaev, the General Director of Megogo online cinema in Central Asia.
The head of the office spoke about the cases of streaming in the promotion of national Kazakh cinema in foreign markets and regional peculiarities of watching. Megogo international service today is 154 channels and a collection of movies, more than 6,000 films and TV series, more than 2,000 audiobooks and podcasts, exclusive sports with their own commentators accompanying broadcasts in Kazakh, movies and cartoons with sign language interpretation and tiflo-commentary. In total, 52% of Megogo audience are employees and qualified professionals, with students in the third position and housewives at the bottom of the pyramid. (Recall, megogo.net streaming left the Russian market in the spring of 2022).
As part of the Tech Pro block, a presentation was made by the Asia Cinema, a full-cycle design and installation company: Answering the challenge of time from Asia Cinema. The speaker was the head of the company Arseniy Kuzminich. The EFM visitors learned about the company, areas of work, movie mobile and got acquainted with the new brand Ray Pro, which produces xenon lamps for movie projectors and multimedia projectors. Asia Cinema has equipped and opened more than 1200 cinema halls in Russia and CIS, 46 cinema halls with Dolby Atmos sound, designed a cinema hall with the largest screen in CIS 29,5X14m, equipped 24 circuses for cinema exhibition. Today Asia Cinema is the official integrator of Asia Music Company, the largest manufacturer of professional equipment for cinemas, cultural facilities and sports arenas. The presence of production and design and installation department provides a comprehensive approach in the company work with turnkey orders of any complexity: from project development to delivery of the finished object.
For the first time, Asanafilm, a film distribution company operating in Kazakhstan and the CIS, was presented as part of the international film forum. After the opening speech, the head of the company Asel Amireeva welcomed the participants of the film market, introduced the team and talked about the intention to expand the line-up including Kazakh content. Marketing Director Bakhyt Zhumadilova, began the presentation with materials from the romantic saga AFTER.FOREVER, one of the most commercially successful independent film franchises After, based on the best-selling novels by Anna Todd. The film was simultaneously released on September 14 in cinemas in Russia, Central Asia and the CIS and confidently took the first line in terms of collections on the first weekend of distribution.
Woody Allen's COUP DE CHANCE — the 50th (and possibly final) film in his filmography — will be in official distribution in Central Asia, the CIS and Russia in late September. When marriage becomes routine, you can take a risk and surrender to the power of new feelings! But remember: every action has consequences, and they can be quite unexpected....
Next, a first-class animation package was presented by Yuri Krasavin, who is responsible for PR and smm in the company:
SCARYGIRL is familiar to children and teen audiences from comic books and video game. The trailer of the cartoon is already running in theaters (was filed to the animated release RUSLAN AND LUDMILA. MORE THAN A FAIRY TALE and other projects).
THE INSEPARABLES is a magical animation from the writers of TOY STORY will be released in theaters as early as November 23 this year.
Scandinavian animation PANDA BEAR IN AFRICA, a new work of director Richard Klaus, who worked on the creation of the popular cartoon THE LITTLE VAMPIRE.
Producer of the animated film OZI :VOICE OF THE FOREST was Leonardo DiCaprio. The charming monkey Ozi uses his influencing skills to save his forest and home from being cut down.
The absolute hit of the New Year vacations in Kazakhstan, CIS as well as in Russia is considered to be the anniversary franchise THREE BOGATYRS AND THE NAVEL OF THE EARTH, which traditionally will burst into the cinemas of CIS and Central Asia from December 28. Materials are as always filled with energy, dynamics and humor of favorite characters. A large-scale advertising campaign has already started in cinemas and media space.
Bakhyt Zhumadilova presented the comedy action BODYGUARD ON FREELANCE to the participants of the film market. The story is as old as the world. Former special forces could not accept the role of office clerk and goes on a dangerous mission, where he can do everything. Release is October 19.
Another hit in a similar genre will be FIGHT OR FLIGHT starring Josh Hartnett. The action comedy thriller takes place on board a liner, where Hartnett's hero goes on a secret mission.
In 2024 on Valentine's Day, fans of the youth hit BEAUTIFUL DISASTER will be waiting for a sequel to the romantic comedy called BEAUTIFUL WEDDING.
One of the gems of the company's package — historical drama FIREBRAND, where the main roles masterfully performed by Alicia Vikander and Jude Law (the latter amazes with the skill of reincarnation, presenting the viewer in a new image of a cruel but vulnerable tyrant).
Upcoming releases: thriller CAT PERSON (October 26), action thriller SILENT NIGHT (November 30), action film ROLE PLAY (December 14), the only project in the genre of horror UNDYING. Thriller MOTHERS’ INSTINCT with Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway in the lead roles, addresses the themes of substitute love, the fragility of a small world and the inevitability of revenge. Locomotives of the company's package and box office hits will be:
RIDDICK : FURYA with Vin Diesel in the title role and David Tui in the director's chair. Guy Ritchie's new project is THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE. PADDINGTON IN PERU and, of course, THE HUNGER GAMES : THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES (will be released only in the CIS and Central Asian countries).
Following the extensive offer of international releases from Asanafilm, the presentation of the new independent distribution company in Kazakhstan and CIS NIET distribution took place. The national release plan was presented by Igor Tsai (Ex-CEO of Bazelevs. He managed offices in Los Angeles, Beijing, Moscow, Almaty and Cyprus) and Kuat Sadykov (Ex-CEO of Salem Social Media). The co-founder was Timur Smagulov (representative of celebrities Travis Scott, Kanye West, Migos, etc.). Among the announced projects are comedy PAZANSKIY KIPISH, crime drama SHEKER, which is a continuation of the sensational youth web-series of the same name, musical drama about the beginning of rap in Kazakhstan SHULAMAH. The title project of the distributor was the crime drama ZHAZA directed by Darhan Tulegenov. The drama tells about the fate of a corrupt policeman whose life changes abruptly when he learns about the kidnapping and heinous rape of his daughter. He goes against the system for revenge and justice. Starring: Father — policeman Yerzhan Tusupov (PERSONAL GROWTH TRAINING, TALGAT) daughter Dilnaz Kurmangali. Forum participants were presented the first trailer, and in the evening as part of a partner reception showed an 8-minute exclusive material from the movie.
On the Day of Kazakh Cinema, the presentation was held by the country's largest independent film producer Tiger Films (the company was founded in 2021 on the basis of the largest film network Kinopark Theatres).
As noted by Yerlan Bukharbayev, the General Producer of Tiger Films, in just a few years the domestic film market has made a huge leap: from 2019 to the current year, the share of Kazakhstani cinema has increased from 20% to 40%. In 2022, 38 locally produced films have been in theaters, and by the end of 2023, 60 films are expected to be released. Tiger Films also made its contribution to the development of Kazakhstan's cinematography. For two years of existence under the brand of the company was produced 26 full-length films, of which 18 had time to be on the screens of cinemas. In terms of the number of films, the share of Tiger Films for 2023 is 33%, in terms of box office receipts — 28%. The top of the highest-grossing films released by the production company are the comedies MARRIED BACHELOR, BISHARASHKI and ZHANYM SOL.
Eight new films from Tiger Films will soon appear on movie theater screens: comedies BAIDYN KYZYN ALAMYN (September 21), BESHBARMAK (October 26) and TEACH ME TO LIVE (November 9), romantic action film THIEVES (December 14), New Year's fairy tale AYAZ AGA (December 14), historical fantasy BAYR FROM THE PAST (December 21), the second parts of the acclaimed films BISHARASHKI – BISHARASHKI 2 (December 28) and ZHANYM SOL – MENIN ZHANYM (January 18), as well as romcom MY HALF (February 8).
In parallel with the premieres, the company continues to produce new films. Thus, the other day started shooting a family comedy KASHAN YILENESIN (directed by Medet Kalibekov), and just a week later will begin production of two more films – KAYIN ATA VS KUYEU BALA (directed by Alen Niyazbekov) and KORSHILER (directed by Maksat Ospanov).
The final presentation of the program was a line of films by the Sakhafilm company. After an opening video about the industry opportunities, Alexei Egorov, the Head of the company, presented 11 multi-genre films and talked about the company plans. The forum participants were presented with trailers and exclusive materials of such projects as LOOGUT UONNA NYURGUHUN. A beautiful story about two lovers, about first love. The daughter of rich parents Nyurguhun want to marry a rich man Mardaasai. But the girl is in love with a poor man, Lookuut. For the love of a young man, Nyurguhun is ready to die...Director: Konstantin Timofeev. Genre: melodrama, fantasy, adventure; THE CANDIDATE. The moderate life of the village "Kyhyl sulus" is divided into two parts by the upcoming election for the position of the head of the legacy! A very successful plan of keeping the power of the odious Stepan Stepanych is ruined by the unexpected decision of his dark horse Aban Mokhnachevsky: and now their battlefield is the elections, their weapon is kompromat, everything is at stake! Directed by: Dmitry Shadrin. Genre: folk comedy. ET. An ordinary quarrel of teenagers spills over into a parental chat and leads to a serious conflict. At this time in the hospital, a girl asks for an urgent operation, but the doctor in fear of breaking the law does not dare to do it until midnight, when the girl becomes of age. Somewhere in one of the apartments unfolds a frank story about a man who secretly from his wife begins to flirt with a seductive neighbor. In a neighboring house, a young guy borrows a lot of money from a businessman to play on the difference in the exchange rate, but that very day the dollar exchange rate goes crazy. Meanwhile, a mad old man goes to another city to meet the killer of his son to answer for everything. All of them face the question of choice and making difficult decisions, on which their lives depend. Directors: Stepan Burnashev and Dmitry Davydov. Genre: drama, thriller. HUNTER MIHALYUSHCHKA. Based on the famous work of the front-line writer Timofey Smetanin. The hunter, Mekhalechen, who can talk to animals, together with a boy saves animals and forest from poachers. Director: Alexander Lukin. Genre: adventure, fantasy, comedy. THE STRUGGLE. Biographical movie about Vyacheslav Karpov. The first Yakut champion of the Union in freestyle wrestling. (The movie is based on real events). Director: Nikandr Fedorov. Genre: biopic, drama. SPEEDSTAR. The story of the racehorse champion Speed Star, tells about the relationship of the horse with its permanent jockey Egor Okoneshnikov and trainer Sergei Yadreyev. (The film is based on real events) Directed by: Alexander Ambrosiev. Genre: Sports drama. TRIUMPH. A movie about the brilliant performance of Yakut wrestlers at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. (The film is based on real events). Director: Mikhail Lukachevsy. Genre: biopic, sports drama. IRON. The fate of an urban teenager turns 180 degrees after the death of his mother, now he will have to get along with an indifferent father and harsh rural realities. Debut work of director Nikolai Ate. Genre: drama, comedy. WHERE THE SIBERIAN CRANES DANCE. The story of a boy Vanya, who returned to his family after a long treatment of spinal injury, received as a result of an accident in early childhood. Director: Mikhail Lukachevsky. Genre: drama. TASTE OF LIFE. A continuation of the story based on the story MAAPPA (sequel) by the Yakut classicist Nikolai Zabolotsky. Continuation of the main character's story after meeting a mystical girl named Maappa. Alexei Romanov's short film MAAPPA was released in 1986 and became one of the first Yakut films. Director: Alexei Romanov. Genre: mysticism, drama, adventure. MY NAME IS LOVE. Love is the name of the main character, a middle-aged woman. She lives in the village with her parents and her brother's family. For the last 5 years she has been dreaming of changing her life, but she doesn't know where to start..... On her birthday, she makes a wish to get married. That same evening she hears a horoscope that she needs to act now! Director: Valentin Makarov. Genre: romantic comedy.
On September 12 and 13, Pro:vglyad Film Distribution Company presented two films ANATOMY OF FALL and ONLY YOU AND I to the audience and participants of the Eurasian Film Market at the French Film Festival. Psychological thriller ONLY YOU AND I, a participant of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, has already been released in Russia. However, in Kazakhstan was shown for the first time. ANATOMY OF FALL, winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2023 is preparing for release on wide screens in Russia, CIS and Central Asia. September 13 was held a preview screening of the thriller in Kazakhstan.
On September 13, the program was opened by Unifrance, the Organization for the Promotion of French Cinema, and CNC (France), the National Film Center. Unifrance manager in charge of CIS Barnabé Tardineux and French Audiovisual Cooperation Attaché in CIS countries Emmanuelle Faucilhon gave an overview of the French film industry, the structure of Unifrance and CNC work, gave an overview of the system of financing projects, funds, including the Cinema du Monde program for co-production and support in film distribution. Key distribution figures were given: 31.3 million tickets sold for a total of €201.5 million in 2022. The main territories for theatrical distribution in 2022 were Western Europe (14.2 million tickets sold), Central and Western Europe and the CIS (8 million), and Latin America (3.5 million). Leaders at the box office were the films QU’EST-CE QU-ON A TOUS FAIT AU BON DIEU, PIL, LE LOUP ET LE LION, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, LE TRÉSOR DU PETIT NICOLAS. 238 French films were selected for the top 10 world film festivals in 2022, 50 of which won awards. Film festivals favourites were SAINT OMER, SUR L’ADAMANT, ANATOMY D’UNE CHUTE. An overview was given of the leading French film studios and their projects: Studiocanal (Canal+), Newen Connect, SND (M6 Group), Pathe, Gaumont, MK2 Films. Twenty-two sales companies, members of the Unifrance international network of sales companies, were represented.
As part of the Tech Pro block, KINOPLAN presented an ecosystem of solutions and products for integrated theater management. The speakers of the presentation were Alexander Romanovsky, the Head of Customer Relations, Dmitry Demyantsev, the Product Director and Murad Aliomarov, the Business Development Director. KINOPLAN today is 2100 cinemas in Russia and the CIS, 1350 cities in Russia and the CIS, more than 400 hundred screens in 11 countries outside Russia. The main products of the company: website and mobile application, bouquing and advertising management program, ticketing and loyalty system, bar, kiosk, TMS - remote cinema management, video panels and cinema vision — real-time tracking of seating in the hall, cinema pulse - operational tracking of key performance indicators of the cinema.
The presentation of the National Center for the Promotion of German Cinema German Films was made by Marcel Maiga, the organization's representative in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He presented the program to support distributors with a total budget of 763,000 euros in 2023, gave an overview of national and regional German funds that provide funding for film production and support for co-production projects. New projects for release in Central Asia for 2023-2024 were presented.
The company Digital District, one of the European leaders in the field of post-production, special effects and color correction in its video selection presented new opportunities in post-production technology. The representative of the company Tanguy Dairane told about new representations of the company, and also shared plans for further development of the company.
As part of the Eurasian Film Market initiative, the market business program was finished with the presentation of #SEARCH program which included feature-length fiction and documentary films from Central Asian countries made in 2022-2023. In total, the program featured more than 100 films from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
On September 14, the closing event of the first Eurasian Film Market and French Film Festival "French Premieres" took place — a screening of François Ozon's dramedy MY CRIME presented by A-One.
