"Akkyz:" A Film about Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Kazakhstan
Nine-year old Aruzhan lives in harmony with nature on a deserted island, together with her mother and brother. Unwittingly echoing an ancient Kazakh legend, about the creation of the world from the egg of the Sacred White Swan, she tries to protect two abandoned swan eggs. Her brother, meanwhile, seeks opportunity in the city. Neither realizes the price they might pay. Akkyz is a beautiful film about the meeting point, and sometimes conflict, of man and nature, modernity and tradition.
Overview
Nine-year old Aruzhan lives in harmony with nature on a deserted island, together with her mother and brother. Unwittingly echoing an ancient Kazakh legend, about the creation of the world from the egg of the Sacred White Swan, she tries to protect two abandoned swan eggs. Her brother, meanwhile, seeks opportunity in the city. Neither realizes the price they might pay. Akkyz is a beautiful film about the meeting point, and sometimes conflict, of man and nature, modernity and tradition.
Presented by the Ballets Russes Cultural Partnership as part of Flowers of the Steppes: Festival of Kazakh Cinema (Boston and DC, November 14-20, full schedule details here: http://www.ballets-russes.com/kazfest.html), with support from KazakhFilm Studios and the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Akkyz (transl. The White Girl). Director: Zhanabek ZhetiruKazakhstan, 2011, 64 min., Kazakh with English subtitles
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Kennan Institute
The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange. Read more
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