NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Cinema will invest 5.6 billion tenge (US$11.7 million) in more than 60 film projects, said company’s Deputy Chair Baurzhan Shukenov, the Central Communications Service press office reported July 27.
According to Shukenov, social impact films, including animation projects, will receive 4.95 billion tenge (US$10.3 million). Up to 500 million tenge (US$1 million) will be provided for debut films, while another 129.5 million tenge (US$271,717) will be used to promote films for a general audience, and 25 million tenge (US$52,455) will be used to support co-produced films.
“The quality of the submitted projects has improved. They are now much more interesting. We saw fewer pompous, monumental projects for which large sums of money were requested. This year, many projects are presented by young people,” said People’s Artist of Kazakhstan, Expert Council Chair Doskhan Zholzhaksynov.
Zholzhaksynov emphasized the online process’s transparency and procedural fairness.
This year, the expert council prioritized low-budget projects that could serve as a springboard for aspiring filmmakers.
The number of young filmmakers is increasing every year. The state center financed 39 films in 2020 and 17 projects in 2019.
