The Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan continues systematic efforts to develop the national film industry and promote Kazakh cinema on the international stage.

Kazakh films have participated in more than 300 international film festivals and won 177 awards, strengthening Kazakhstan’s position in the global film industry. From 2020 to 2025, the State Centre for Support of National Cinema has implemented 119 film projects spanning a wide range of genres — from feature films to animation.

Over the past two years, three pitching sessions (visual presentations of film projects aimed at attracting potential investors) have been held, resulting in 40 out of 57 selected projects being implemented by young filmmakers.

In 2024, the rules for competitive selection were revised, making the process more transparent and efficient. Priority themes were identified, script development timelines were shortened, an electronic application system was introduced, and the voting mechanism of the Expert Council was improved. As a result, the share of scripts in the Kazakh language increased to 75%, and participation by young independent directors rose significantly.

A major achievement was the success of the film Qaitadan, which received state support and became the leader of the domestic box office, grossing over 1 billion tenge. The film earned more than five times its state investment, serving as a prime example of the effectiveness of new state support mechanisms.

In 2025, the national casting project JARQYRA was launched to discover and support new acting talents, primarily from the regions. This initiative gave young actors an opportunity to showcase their abilities and become part of the national film industry.

As part of the Decade of Kazakh Cinema campaign, screenings of domestic films were held in cinemas across the Karaganda, Zhambyl, North Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan, and Zhetysu regions.

Kazakh films are becoming increasingly accessible to audiences — they are now available not only in cinemas, including regional ones, but also on online platforms. In cooperation with the Kinopoisk platform, a special collection of 17 Kazakh films was created, featuring The Time of Patriots, Offline Holidays 2, Dos-Mukasan, Qajymuqan, and others, opening new opportunities for the popularization of Kazakh cinema.

Kazakh cinema is steadily reaching the international level. For the first time in 30 years, Kazakhstan was represented at the world’s largest film market, Marché du Film, held as part of the Cannes Film Festival, where the national KazakhCinema pavilion served as an important platform for promoting domestic projects.

At Cannes, memorandums of cooperation were signed with the national film centers of France and Georgia, while in Aktau, agreements were concluded with film organizations of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Among the international projects were the documentary The Tale of the Sea Dogs and the co-production Winners Are Seen from the Start, presented at the Locarno and Busan film festivals.

Kazakh cinema is confidently reaching new horizons and finding its audience both at home and abroad.

 

Press Service of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan