KAZAKH FILM FEST, NOV 14-20, Boston and DC

[FirstName LastName]

For those not in New Orleans all this week, with interest for Kazakhstan
or post-Soviet film, there are series of screenings in Boston and DC.
Please find the overall info and select synopses below.

FLOWERS OF THE STEPPE: FESTIVAL OF KAZAKH CINEMA
   November 14-20, 2012, Washington, DC & Boston

A festival of recent films from Kazakhstan, taking place at the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston, and various venues in Washington, DC November 14-20,
2012. Flowers of the Steppe highlights some of the country's new
film-making voices and offers different visions of modern Kazakhstan and
the traditions of its historic past. For the full program, film synopses
and other details, please visit: www.ballets-russes.com/kazfest.html.

Boston: www.mfa.org/programs/series/flowers-steppe-festival-kazakh-cinema

Opening Night: Letters to An Angel (Pisma k Angelu) Nov. 14, 7:45 PM.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Alfond Auditorium (screens again Nov. 17,
1PM)

   Like a modern-day Arabian Nights, Letters to an Angel is a nest of
stories haunted by sex and death. One winter night in Almaty, Gulnara
seduces a young novelist. When he tells her a story he’s written, she
responds with a beguiling tale of her own about a woman, perhaps
herself, who has simultaneous affairs with two men. The tale concludes
with a haunting twist. One of Kazakhstan’s most accomplished directors,
Ermek Shinarbaev, crafts a suspenseful, surprising and beautifully shot
film suffused with an aura of erotic melancholy. Ayganim Sadykova
delivers a riveting performance as the mysterious Gulnara. In Russian
with English subtitles.
   Q&A and discussion with director Ermek Shinarbaev and American
independent film producer Michael Fitzgerald follows the Nov 14
screening. To read their biographies please visit:
www.ballets-russes.com/biog_kaz.html

Kelin Nov. 16, 7 PM. Museum of Fine Arts, Alfond Auditorium

   Set in the forbidding Altai mountains of Kazakhstan, in a pre-historic
society that does not use language, Kelin is a love triangle told
without words. Sold by her father to the richer of her suitors, Kelin
is sent to live in the yurt of her husband, with his mother and young
brother, and discovers the pleasures and challenges of married life.
But the other suitor, whom Kelin loves and who has sworn a blood oath
to have her, comes looking for her, with fatal results. With subtle
acting, poignant gesture, stunning visuals, and an unusual palette of
sounds, it is a masterfully orchestrated story of sensuality and
survival. The directorial debut of Ermek Tursunov, one of Kazakhstan's
leading scriptwriters, this film was short listed in the Best Foreign
Language Film category in the 2009 Academy Awards, and was an official
selection at numerous festivals, including Toronto.
   Discussion with noted Kazakh film director Ermek Shinarbaev follows the
screening.

Also, The Dash (Ryvok) Nov. 17, 11 AM &  Seker Nov. 18, 3:30 PM.

Washington

Kelin Nov. 17, 7 PM, Goethe Institut, Washington DC
  Discussion with Steven-Charles Jaffe, Honorary Consul of Kazakhstan in
Los Angeles, and Ermek Shinarbaev, noted Kazakh film director, follows
the screening.

Letters to An Angel (Pisma k Angelu) Nov. 18, 2 PM. Freer Gallery of Art
   Q&A with director, Ermek Shinarbaev, and sound engineer, Gulsara
Mukataeva, immediately following the screening. Event concludes with
light reception, including traditional Kazakh cuisine.

Akkyz(The White Girl) Nov. 20, 4 PM. Kennan Institute
   Followed by panel discussion with Ermek Shinarbaev, a noted Kazakh film
director, Dr. Dastan Yeleukenov, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy
of Kazakhstan, and Anna Winestein, Executive Director of the Ballets
Russes Cultural Partnership


The festival is organized by the Ballets Russes Cultural Partnership
(BRCP), and co-presented by the BRCP with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
and the Freer Gallery of Art, Goethe Institut, and Kennan Institute in
Washington. With additional support from the Embassy of the Republic of
Kazakhstan in Washington, and KazakhFilm Studios in Almaty.

To view the events on Facebook and connect with the BRCP, please visit:
www.facebook.com/BRCulturalPartnership/events

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------