Close-Up: Kazakhstan

This year at the FilmFestival Cottbus we are happy to present the film country Kazakhstan. Close-Up Kazakhstan, that's what the film series will be called.

The country in Central Asia has been in a difficult balancing act for the past year. Economically and politically, the country is closely tied to Russia and is looking for ways to break free from this close dependence and open up to new international partners. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan is the country with the strongest film production.

The Close Up Kazakhstan series not only shows the range of current Kazakh cinema between social criticism and national epic, but also explores the role of the current Russian diaspora in Kazakhstan and reflects on how filmmakers there see the future of their country between the suppression of opposition protests at the turn of 2021/22 and the government's tentative departure from its Russia-friendly course.

Feature films, short films and documentaries are planned and the screenings will be accompanied by panel discussions with filmmakers and political experts.