Archive of films Nagima / Nagima

Kazakhstan
2013, 77 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2014

Nagima, a withdrawn eighteen-year-old, ekes out an existence with her only friend, Anya, sharing a slum apartment on the outskirts of Almaty. There is very little chance that the two abandoned girls can expect a better future for themselves.... Using minimal dialogue and vivid, inhospitable locations, director Issabayeva unfolds a strong, lyrical story of a desperate desire for love and social acceptance.

Synopsis

Nagima is a withdrawn eighteen-year-old eking out her existence in a tiny room on the outskirts of Almaty. She adopts a fatalistic attitude towards everything fate has thrown at her. Her only kindred spirit is her similar-aged flatmate Anya, now nine months pregnant. Nagima takes the bus each day to her appallingly paid restaurant job and, with her pittance of a wage and kitchen leftovers, she tries to keep herself and her friend above the poverty line. There is very little chance that the two abandoned girls can expect a better future for themselves.... In this, her fifth feature, the experienced Kazakh director and producer underlines the difficult situation of single women in Kazakhstan, a society controlled largely by men. Using minimal dialogue and vivid, inhospitable locations, Issabayeva unfolds a strong, lyrical story of a desperate desire for love and social acceptance.

About the director

Zhanna Issabayeva (b. 1968, Alma-Ata, USSR) graduated in journalism from Kazakh State University in 1991. She has been a successful producer, director and screenwriter since 1993. She debuted in 2007 with the feature film Karoy (2007), which was premiered in Venice during the Settimana della critica. In 2009 she directed the lyrical comedy My Dear Children (Dorogiye moi dyeti). This was followed by the films Losing Innocence in Alma-Ata (Tyerya nyevinnost v Almaty, 2011) and Talgat (2012). Her fifth feature Nagima received its world premiere at the Busan IFF and its European premiere played out in the Berlinale’s Forum section.

Contacts

Sun Production
Dostyk ave 109b-39, 050020, Almaty
Kazakhstan
Tel: +7 727 262 2155
E-mail: [email protected]

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Another View

Director:	Zhanna Issabayeva
Screenplay:	Zhanna Issabayeva
Dir. of Photography:	Sayat Zhangazinov
Editor:	Azamat Altybasov
Producer:	Zhanna Issabayeva, Yerlan Bazhanov
Production:	Sun Production
Cast:	Dina Tukubayeva, Galina Pyanova, Mariya Nezhentseva
Contact:	Sun Production