ASTANA – Kazakh actor Askar Ilyasov won the Best Male Actor award for his role in the “Paralympian” sports drama directed by Aldiyar Bairakimov at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival in Mumbai, the actor wrote on his Instagram page on Jan. 31.
“We had a mission: to put a spotlight on the Paralympians. They filmed with us, and we had a friendly team. The film is about the triumph of the human spirit, behind which there is strength. We wanted to convey the spirit of the Paralympians,” Ilyasov told DimashNews.com.
The film’s premise is based on the true stories of Kazakh Paralympians, particularly Alexander Kolyadin, Kazakhstan’s first Winter Paralympic Games champion, who won a 1.5-kilometer sprint in Pyeongchang in 2018.
This year, Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen participated as a jury member at the SCO Film Festival.