- Kijkwijzer 16
- Geweld
- Groftaalgebruik
Karlygash (whose name translates as “swallow”) lives with her husband Ilyas, and father-in-law on a horse farm in the Kazakh steppe. A stranger in this household, she finds her fragile place unsettled by the arrival of Louis, a travelling French photographer.
Malika Mukhamejan is a curator and filmmaker whose work elevates diverse voices in Central Asian cinema, exploring women’s representation, and fostering community through film. She is the founder of Qyzqaras, an Almaty-based film festival dedicated to female filmmaking, which has just celebrated its most recent edition: Qyzqaras Film Festival 2025.
QYZQARAS is an independent platform and annual film festival based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, dedicated to amplifying women’s voices in cinema, with a particular focus on Central Asia. Founded in 2023, QYZQARAS aims to challenge dominant narratives, support emerging filmmakers, and provide space for underrepresented perspectives through film screenings, discussions, and educational initiatives. Its motto — “women’s perspectives through the lens of cinema” — reflects its commitment to feminist curatorial practices and the creation of a transnational community of artists, thinkers, and audiences.
Asian Movie Night (AMN) is a diasporic film platform in the Netherlands. Established as a direct response to the systematic lack of Asian representation in the Dutch cultural scene, AMN brings in radically different narratives and aesthetics to a broad audience through collaboration with various cultural venues. With an interdisciplinary approach that integrates film, visual art, design, and conversations, AMN aims to challenge the notion of ‘Asianness’ by transcending nation-state borders and resisting fixed identities.