Kazakh Movie Wins Main Prize at Cinema Vérité Festival in Iran

ASTANA — Kazakh director Alina Mustafina’s documentary road movie “Gingerbread for Her Dad” won the main prize at the Cinema Vérité festival, the International Documentary Film Festival of Iran.

Photo credit: UVENT Production.

Magazine98 reported on Dec. 24 that the documentary film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and was screened at the Turin Film Festival.  

An 84-year-old Lyabiba travels from Kazakhstan to Poland with her daughter and granddaughter in search of the mass burial where her father was buried. As these three generations of women journey through their native town in Tatarstan, they are not just looking for tangible remnants but also attempting to restore lost links among them. 

Along the way, they encounter post-colonial Soviet traumas and search for a sense of home and identity – topics of great concern to many Kazakhs. The journey takes place amid the war in Ukraine, with many Russians moving to Kazakhstan due to mobilization.

Negotiations are underway to launch the “Gingerbread for Her Dad” movie at Kazakhstan’s cinemas.


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