The team behind Berlinale winner Bucket, which is taking part in the International Film Festival of India, Goa, has a host of regular projects.
The Hunger, directed by Askar Ozabayev, deals with the impending famine in Kazakhstan. The film, which just wrapped, is being produced by Anna Kaczko, whose credits include “Harmony Lessons” and “The Black Hen” alongside Bayan Maksatkyzy-Alagusova.
“The famine in Kazakhstan is a big issue – it was exactly 90 years ago and in 1932-1933. All our ancestors went through this,” Kachko said. diverse. “We realized that [Russia-Ukraine] War is actually doing the same terrible thing. It is changing all the ecosystems in the world. Because today we know that about 12% of all grains that are so necessary for people around the world come from this region, and the region is at war, so these grains will not come.”
The movie “Hunger”, which will be released in the festival cycle in 2023, and “Happiness”, produced by 567 Creative Studio / BM Production. The shoot began in December 2022 for “Lynx”, which was at the Berlin co-production market. It is directed by Sharipa Urazbayeva, whose debut film “Maryam”, also produced by Kaczko, premiered in Locarno, Toronto and Busan and won first prize in Fiesole. The film will follow a woman searching for her son after a long separation.
Another woman-directed film by Ozabayev is in the works. Kaczko swears by the work of a director who, after several comedies, achieves a tonal shift with “Happiness” and “Hunger.” There is a project that follows the stories of women in several countries, one of which is India, which will also be directed by Uzabayev, and possibly a first-rate Bollywood actress in the lead.
“I really see the great potential in him because he combines both of those two aspects – a deeply philosophical approach, but he also loves to make films that touch everyone’s heart. So I am happy to find in him this connection of two worlds, because for me, it has always been two different worlds, commercial films or art films. And I hope he can combine it and turn it into bigger stories,” Kaczko said.
Kaczko will also produce a romance with Bangladeshi author Mostofa Sarwar Farocki, who co-produced her titled Saturday Afternoon. She is in discussions with compatriot Rubaiyat Hussain (“Made in Bangladesh”) for another film.
The producer had plans for some Russian projects, but they have stalled since the start of the war. “It’s really a pity that all intellectuals, all filmmakers, are thrown into this pot of war. And everyone has to make a decision. Everyone has to make a statement because it’s a real terrible war between two neighboring countries. And I had to make a personal decision. I I’m not making any films in Russia at the moment, but I’m glad I’m able to make films in Kazakhstan, Europe and South Asia.”
Meanwhile, ‘Happiness’, which revolves around the theme of domestic violence and won the Panorama Audience Award in Berlin, had a great showing in Goa and touched a chord. It is based on the near-death personal domestic violence experience of Maksatkyzy-Alagusova, a celebrity in Kazakhstan who is also an actor and TV presenter.
“People were in tears. It was a full house on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m.,” Kaczko said. “I imagine this is a very, very poignant topic for women and men in this country.”
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