‘Kurak’ set up as first France-Kyrgyzstan co-production (exclusive)

BY SILVIA WONG

Erke Dzhumakmatova and Emil Atageldiev’s gritty drama Kurak is set to be the first official France-Kyrgyzstan co-production, following an agreement signed between CNC and Kyrgyzstan’s Cinema Department in Cannes.

Through Oymo Studio, director Dzhumakmatova is also the main producer of Kurak, an international collaboration co-produced with France’s Johann Chapelan of Girelle Production, along with Kairat Birimkulov from Switzerland’s KBP and Katerina Tarbo-Ignatenko from Serbia’s Spirito Libero.

Based on true events, the film touches on the disempowerment of women against the background of the patriarchal society of modern-day Kyrgyzstan. It is set in the capital Bishkek, using locations where the real events took place.

The story revolves around a young girl secretly working as a webcam model who is forced to enter into an intimate relationship with a law enforcement officer and a mother whose young daughter commits suicide who struggles to get a fair investigation of the son of a powerful politician.

Dzhumakmatova has previously directed The Lake, which premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talent competition in 2020.