NUR-SULTAN – A Kazakh drama film “Mukagali” directed by Bolat Kalymbetov received the Ecumenical award at the 25th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival which was held on Nov. 12-28, reported Kazakhfilm studio’s press service.
This year’s program included the screening of 19 films, three of which were not part of the competition. Photo credit: kazakhfilmstudios.kz
The prize of the Estonian Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award, which is given for both artistic quality and for the religious, social and humanistic issues raised by the film. It has been given out at various international film festivals since 1973.
Ecumenism is a movement or tendency toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation, thus the award was created by Christian filmmakers, film critics and other people involved in cinematography.
“The prize goes to a film whose poetic language and visual richness allow the most sensitive topics to be translated into the language of the human soul. The pursuit of beauty and spirit is not extinguished, even in the deepest ideologies and shattered hearts, but instead opens the door to glorification of true spiritual values,” one of the juries commented on the festival’s website.
The film tells the story of the last three years of life of the great Kazakh writer and translator Mukagali Makatayev (1931 – 1976), whose poetry collections were eventually included in the gold fund of Kazakh poetry. Makatayev, whose works were not recognized and rarely published when he was alive, considered it his life mission to craft his art.
Started in 1997, the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival has grown into one of the biggest film festivals in Northern Europe and one of the busiest regional industry platforms.
