Ozen
The River
Five brothers living under the watch of an authoritarian father find their delicate dynamic threatened by the presence of the outside world in Emir Baigazin’s hypnotic family portrait. The final chapter in a trilogy of films depicting teenage life in rural Kazakhstan, Baigazin combines moments of surrealism with political allegory to illustrate why the economically depressed steppes of post-Soviet Kazakhstan might not be the best place to start a family. A rigorously composed and austere film about power and persuasion, The River casts a spell that will entice admirers of uncompromising cinema. (Patrick Gamble, Little White Lies)
Director's Biography
Emir Baigazin
Born in Kazakhstan in 1984, Emir Baigazin worked as an actor at the theatre before studying film and television directing at the Kazakh National Academy of Arts in Almaty. In 2007 he was selected to participate in the Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea, and he is an alumnus of the 2008 Berlinale Talent Campus. In 2013 his feature debut “Harmony Lessons” screened in Competition at the Berlinale.
Film Selection: Ozen (The River, 2018) - Ranenyy Angel (Wounded Angel, 2015) - Uroki Garmonii (Harmony Lessons, 2013)
Born in Kazakhstan in 1984, Emir Baigazin worked as an actor at the theatre before studying film and television directing at the Kazakh National Academy of Arts in Almaty. In 2007 he was selected to participate in the Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea, and he is an alumnus of the 2008 Berlinale Talent Campus. In 2013 his feature debut “Harmony Lessons” screened in Competition at the Berlinale.
Film Selection: Ozen (The River, 2018) - Ranenyy Angel (Wounded Angel, 2015) - Uroki Garmonii (Harmony Lessons, 2013)
European Panorama Fiction 2019
Emir Baigazin
Kazakhstan / Poland / Norway 2018
color
108 minutes
Kazakh OV with English subtitles
Screenplay Emir Baigazin
Cinematography Emir Baigazin
Editing Emir Baigazin
Sound/Sounddesign Daut Zhantasov
Music Justyna Banaszczyk
With Zhalgas Klanov, Eric Tazabekov, Zhasulan Userbayev, Ruslan Userbayev, Bagdaulet Sagindikov, Sultanali Zhaksybek, Kuandyk Kystykbayev, Aida Iliyaskyzy
Producer(s) Emir Baigazin, Klaudia Smieja, Hilde Berg, Ludmila Cvikova
Production
Emir Baigazin Production, Madants, Norsk Filmproduksjon, Ludmila Cvikova C&P
World Sales
Films Boutique
Austrian Premiere
World Premiere
Venice Film Festival 2018
Weltpremiere / World PremiereVenice International Film Festival 2018
Premierenstatus / Premiere Status
Austrian Premiere
