ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Association of Film Critics, headed by its President Gulnara Abikeyeva, has become a member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the association’s press service reported on Jan. 21.
FIPRESCI, founded in 1930, unites film critics and scholars globally to develop world cinema and protect the rights and interests of film experts.
Gulnara Abikeyeva. Photo credit: brod.kz
Abikeyeva, a Kazakh film scholar and critic, is also the author of several books on Kazakh and Central Asian cinema. From 2005 to 2013, she served as the art director of the Eurasia International Film Festival in Almaty. As a member of FIPRESCI and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema, she has been part of critics’ juries at international festivals in Anapa, Berlin, Wiesbaden, Karlovy Vary, Cottbus, Oberhausen, and other cities.
Her publications on cinema have appeared in the Kazakh and international press. She wrote reviews of Central Asian cinema for the International Film Guide yearbook, articles for the FIPRESCI website, the British online magazine KinoKultura, and the Indian film magazine Cinemaya.
The association itself was created in 2014, and the Critics’ Choice Film Award was established, which traditionally celebrates the best achievements of Kazakh cinema. Due to the pandemic, the award was presented only nine times. Initially comprising seven members, the association grew to 26 members by 2024.
Kyrgyz representatives Sultan Usuvaliev, a film critic and director, and Gulbara Tolomushova, a film critic and journalist, were also granted FIPRESCI membership.
