Bauryna Salu filmmaker Askhat Kuchinchirekov couldn’t understand why a familiar Kazakh experience had gone untold on the big screen, so he took the initiative himself.
Now competing on behalf of Kazakhstan for a best international feature film nomination at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards, Kuchinchirekov’s feature directorial debut chronicles a 12-year-old boy named Yersultan (Yersultan Yerman), who’s being raised by his grandmother (Bigaysha Salkyn) in accordance with the ancient Kazakh tradition known as Bauryna Salu. Yersultan helps his grandmother maintain their dilapidated cottage in a rural village, all while doing manual labor in and around their community so that he can provide for his quietly ailing guardian and still save enough money to eventually visit his estranged family that gave him up at birth. That day would come sooner than expected due to the abrupt death of his grandmother, and his subsequent reunion with his father, mother (Dinara Shymyrbay) and brother (Yerkin Berikuly) is far removed from the idealized version he’d imagined his entire life.
Kuchinchirekov and his director of photography, Zhanrbek Yeleubek, were both brought up by their grandmothers as part of this centuries-old nomadic practice, and while Yersultan’s story is emotionally true to their shared experience, the plot is mostly fictionalized. “This tradition is common to any Kazakh family, and I’ve been curious all my life why it has not been shown in any movie or literature within Kazakh culture,” Kuchinchirekov said through an interpreter during a recent THR Presents panel, powered by Vision Media. “I wanted this movie to be a reflection of myself.”
The drama blurs the lines between a narrative feature and a documentary, as evident by the intimate handheld camerawork and purposeful omission of a musical score. “I wanted to create a world that people from all over could relate to and also see what this kind of rural life looks like in Kazakhstan,” Kuchinchirekov remarked through his producer Dias Feld. “I wanted to create a visual style that is as close to a documentary and a realistic view [as possible] so that people could really understand this tradition.”
Thus, the viewer often feels like an observer in each scene, which culminates at a time when Yersultan is having trouble acclimating to life on the modest farm of his original family. There was no indication that he ever went to school during his time with his grandmother, so his struggles only intensify when he gets into a fight inside his new classroom. Mid-scuffle, Yersultan accidentally bumps into the camera operator, and Kuchinchirekov intentionally preserved the moment to further underscore the reality of the picture. “I wanted that physicality to be a way for the viewer to feel like they’re really in the room and that this is all happening in front of their eyes,” Feld interpetered on behalf of Kuchinchirekov.
His pursuit of verisimilitude even extended to the characters’ names, given that they’re mostly named after the first-time actors playing them. But based on the eye-opening performance of Yersultan Yerman as Yersultan, one would assume that he was already an experienced child actor. His impactful turn is bookended by two highly emotional scenes, the first of which is when he learns of his grandmother’s fate and proceeds to walk outside his cottage in a long, continuous take until he has an emotional breakdown. Yerman rehearsed for two weeks before nailing the heartbreaking sequence on take four. “Once we were able to get that take, I was really happy at that moment, because I knew that we were about to create something truly special,” Kuchinchirekov recalled.
Yerman’s second showstopping scene takes place when he explosively confronts his father (Aidos Auesbay) for giving him up in the first place and treating him so coldly upon his return. “I was inspired by a Rembrandt painting where the child falls onto his knees in front of his father,” Kuchinchirekov shared.
Ultimately, Kuchinchirekov presents the pros and cons of this Kazakh tradition, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions about its effectiveness. Feld, who was a latecomer to the now Willa-distributed project, was so moved by an early cut of the film that he had to join as a producer and do anything he could to get it seen. “It was really powerful and representative of our culture, so I wanted to help it take on a life in the world,” Feld said.
This edition of THR Presents is brought to you by Dada Films.
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