On June 1, 2018, within the framework of the Almaty International Literary Biennale, the II International Silkroad Film Festival will take place, with participation of students of L.N.Gumilyov Eurasian National University.
Honorary chairman of the jury is the legendary poet, literary critic, diplomat, political, public figure, linguist and scientist – Olzhas Omarovich Suleimenov.
The aim of the festival is “to present poetic works in new video formats, visualize, illustrate poems, popularize among the youth the priceless legacy of the poets of the East, Central Asia and other regions.”
Students shared their shooting experience with the journalists of InfoTimes.kz
-What can you tell about the competition – what is the main essence?
Temirlan Beisenhan (next T.B): “Silkroad” competition is a creative contest of poetry projects. These are the poems that are played in a movie, music video, etc. The main thing is that it should be filmed. The terms of the competition, in fact, are very simple; all the neighboring countries can take part there. The main point is that you need to take any poem of poets in East and Central Asia, read them and film on camera. What sense it will have, as you will shoot it – it already depends entirely on the authors of the video.
– Why did you write just such a poem?
T.B : Why is the poem of this theme … *thought* the name he wears “Mertvec” (“Мертвец”). Firstly, I am very much fond of military history. History is one of the sciences that is interesting and needs to be studied, and wars are one of those worst, but at the same time, important events of history. Why is “Mertvec” (“Мертвец”)? My work itself describes a soldier who went through the war, but at the same time he is very young and was taken away at the age when his youth is just beginning.
-What inspired you?
T.B : Well, I will say so – I write many poems at the junction of inspiration, on the arrival of some “Wow” in my head and under certain conditions. Sometimes, it happens that I write them spontaneously and at the same time, they very well fit the rhyme, the words. Before that, I wrote a poem – “Ohapka gvozdic” (“Охапка гвоздик”) It is also dedicated to soldiers, and in this work I talked about a soldier who on March 8 tries to come home to his mother. This product was read by many people, they liked it very much. We heard about the “Silkroad” competition. Once the future director of this project – Almas Zhusupov came and said to me: “Tim, here you have “Ohapka gvozdic” (“Охапка гвоздик “), but let’s interpret it, it’s great to film – it will be super. I said that it would be weak and you need something stronger. Honestly, the first two or four lines were written very easily, and then it was very difficult. In fact, all this came at night, *laughs* when Olzhas Suleimenov came to me in a dream and criticized my work. I will say this – do not seek inspiration, it will find you.
-How long have you been writing poetry?
T.B: It is unambiguous to say that I am not a poet , but I can be called an amateur. I write poems from the fourth grade, because I started to get carried away with classical literature, somehow it came by itself. I asked myself a question – if they can, then why I can’t? Am I worse? And I started writing my first poems. My first poem was dedicated, again, to Motherland and Mother. These are such irreplaceable topics, that will not be deprived of their relevance for several centuries. I write for a long time. In 4th class – I was about 9-8 years old. Wrote – showed my teacher, praised and published in the local regional newspaper of the city of Kaskelen, in the Almaty region. I will not say that I like all of my works, but people criticize, and for the most part, criticism is benevolent, I appreciate all this, I accept all this and try to sharpen my skills in writing more and more.
-You were the director of the project – how do you assess your work?
Almas Zhussupov (next. A.Zh): I find it very difficult to evaluate my work, because I installed the project, and when you mount, you have to view the material, different options about 20 times * thought* Though, even more. Maybe even 200 – depending on the work – and you’re bored, so you can not soberly evaluate the video, so you need a focus group or well versed people who are can soberly assess.
-What was the main difficulty in the work?
A.Zh: *thoughts* I’m now torn between “Creating a verse” and “Filming”. The fact is that in the shooting – we had two locations – one of them in the theater, it was very easy to shoot, and the main part was in the steppe. It was the most difficult to film there. First – the organization. It was necessary to go with things, requisites. It was difficult for the actors to endure the cold, because we gave the main actor a military suit, that was not tested – his knees, elbows, and shoulders were in cuts. After that, it became even colder, plus, blood, mud. It was hard for him – I felt this mentally. I think, yes, shooting was the most difficult part.
-How did the filming process go?
T.B: It’s very difficult. We prepared for this project for a long time – I originally chose the location, but Almas was aware, he already shot it before our project. Passed under harsh conditions – the temperature was about five degrees. It was hard for both the actors and the crew. The steppe is a steppe – with mites, scorching sun and sharp high reeds. The difficulty was that it rained the day of filming. At the same time, we did not lose optimism, we accepted these conditions of bad weather – very tough conditions – to our advantage. More precisely, even, these conditions have played into the hands. We could well make the picture of the war. Field of battle. It was tough, it was difficult, but we could.
A.Zh: It’s very fun. We were all in a hurry, this simplified the filming, but the editing itself was difficult, because I had poor assiduity – this made it even more difficult.
– Are future joint projects of this and the higher level planned?
T.B : Almas is a creative person. Unlike my profession – a journalist – he is a director, a very good director. Our professions are very closely related. We already have several joint projects on an amateurish, unprofessional level, but hard work has been invested there. *Thoughts*, for the next year we plan about five projects. We hope that by the end of 2018 we will implement them.
A.Zh: Yes, they are planned. “Mertvec” (“Мертвец”), if I’m not mistaken, was already our second joint work. Before that, we were doing a poem “О Ней”, which I edited, recorded and added suitable music. Further I plan not to select music, but write myself and will work on the video series.
-It was your acting debut, or did you already have to play earlier?
Meiramkul Kenzhibekova (next. M.K): Yes, it can be said that this was a debut for me, since it’s the first time I’m starring in a short film. I starred in some videos, but I think that this project was more ambitious.
-What was the most difficult for you personally during the filming?
M.K: Nothing complicated as a whole, because the filming process was happening in unison, in a cheerful atmosphere.
-What can you say about the general atmosphere of filming?
Botagoz Sabekova (next. B.S): The atmosphere was very good – unreal. First of all, I did not know these people, the director Almas and the producer Erbol before, but the sociability of Almas and Erbol, their unusual approach made me very interested, they are very interesting people. Himself Temirlan – I am very grateful to him for calling me to voiceover. The atmosphere was very friendly. We all spoke quietly, despite the fact that we were unfamiliar.
-Do you plan to continue to try yourself in scoring? What role do you find most attractive on the set?
B.S: I think yes. With joy. Anyone who calls me to speak – I’ll go immediately, and it does not matter, even if it’s free. What role do I find most attractive on the set? Well, firstly, I went to the theater studio for five years, I can play, I also participated in poetry competitions, and therefore, my voice is well-prepared. I think I can both play and voice-over.
– Are you satisfied with your result?
T.B: It’s very difficult to evaluate our work now, because from the point of view of writing a poem, I have done 4/5 part * thoughts* good, 3.5 / 5 from the point of view of filming and directing, I, as an amateur, will say that I really enjoyed our work. These transitions of staff, the very condition of the actors, the texture of the actors played very well. Well, we will wait and see.
A.Zh: As I said before, I can not soberly assess the work, but I’m glad to the process and experience. I still have a lot of work in the plans, but mostly – yes, I’m happy.
M.K: I am happy with the result *laughs*, but I would like to mention my colleagues, you can say, your friends, their work, because I was surprised at their results. For example, Temirlan and Almas, I did not expect such a good quality film to be released, and this work surprised me more, because they proved that they are doing good job. They know their business, and I’m sure that in the future they will continue to develop themselves in this field.
B.S: I’m never happy with my result, because I always find some minuses, but I think it’s good.
– What advice can you give to those who want to, but do not dare to realize themselves in the creative field?
T.B: It’s hard to answer this question, because I’m also an amateur who was very keen on the creative process of writing a poem. I’m not only a poet, I realize myself, as well as a script writer, like a writer, but I still have a little better poetry. My main advice – do not be afraid. Yes, of course, you can say that there are no opportunities, but you are looking for them. If you are striving for something, if your soul asks for why you say “wow”, why not?
A.Zh: We need to look at the situation analytically. If there is no money – earn some. In general, art has no barriers and you can do anything. For example, you can not just be a director. If you are a creative person, you can have craving – take, for example, the same poems or music, I myself play the electric guitar and get pleasure from it. No difficulties – it all depends on the desire.
M.K: Surely I can not give any advice, because I have not realized myself in my creative plan, but I am sure that everything will be fine in the future and all dreams will come true. As an advice, I can say one thing – the main thing to dream and believe, do not be afraid of anything. There will always be people who want to stop you, say something negative. In all negative it is possible to find something positive, but never give up. I hope that in a few years I will be able to accurately answer this question and give an exact answer when I embody myself *laughs*.
B.S: No need to be afraid of anything. I myself am not a creative person. Even I, not a creative person, try to do something. So, do not ever have anything to fear, if you feel that you can do, and then dare. As they say, 90% of practice, 10% of talent. That’s all. I do not have a voice like that from birth. I worked well on this. Although, I’m lying *laughs* at my birth most likely. Since childhood I have read and realized myself well. I may walked in the same place, but I did not stop. I am very glad that I participated in this project. Many thanks to Temirlan for calling.
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Kamila Chuzhenova
