Ardak AMIRKULOV
Ардак АМИРКУЛОВ
Ardak AMIRKOULOV
Sapar KOYCHUMANOV
Сапар КОЙЧУМАНОВ
Sapar KOITCHOUMANOV
USSR (Kazakhstan), 1991, 174mn 
Colour, fiction
Gibel Otrara
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Гибель Отрара

 

 The Fall of Otrar

 La Chute d'Otrar

Other titles : Тень завоевателя / Otyrardyn Kuureu
 
Directed by : Ardak AMIRKULOV (Ардак АМИРКУЛОВ), Sapar KOYCHUMANOV (Сапар КОЙЧУМАНОВ)
Writing credits : Aleksey GERMAN (Алексей ГЕРМАН), Svetlana KARMALITA (Светлана КАРМАЛИТА)
 
Cast
dokhdurbek KYDYRALIYEV (Дохдурбек КЫДЫРАЛИЕВ) ...Unzhu
Sabira ATAYEVA (Сабира АТАЕВА)
Bolot BEISHENALIEV (Болот БЕЙШЕНАЛИЕВ)
Ali TUKHUZHEV (Али ТУХУЖЕВ)
Tungyshbaj ZHAMANKOULOV (Тунгышбай ЖАМАНКУЛОВ)
 
Cinematography : Aubakir SULEYEV (Аубакир СУЛЕЕВ)
Production design : Umirzak SHMANOV (Умирзак ШМАНОВ)
Music : Kuat SHILDEBAYEV (Куат ШИЛЬДЕБАЕВ)
Companies : Kazakhfilm
 
language kazakh, mongol, mandarin.
Site : IMDb

Plot synopsis
"Ardak Amirkulov's 1990 historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan's systematic destruction of the lost east Asian civilization of Otrar is unlike anything you've ever seen."
Kent Jones, www.seagullfilms.com
 

commentaries
 
The ancient city of Otrar was once the center of the nomadic civilization in Asia. Its destruction was decided by Genghis Kahn. Kiptchak Ounjou, both a witness and a participant, tells the dramatic story of the people crushed by the Mongols because they were divided by hatred and plots. The quite well organized Mongols manage to defeat the Muslims torn by all kinds of rivalries. “In 1987, Kazakhfilm decides to entrust the shooting of this historical complex film The Fall of Otrar to the director who was still a student of cinema. For a long time the young director had been attracted by the national history, but he needed a great courage to tackle such a project. He went into deep studies of historical texts related to Genghis Kahn’s invasion and read countless books about the events of the 13th century in order to find a cinematic form for this episode of the natio nal his story.”
T. Smailova, Festival International du Cinéma Asiatique

Selected in the following festivals or events :
- Moscow International Festival of Archival Films (Formerly "Belye Stolby"), Moscow (Russia), 2022
- Festival du film kazakh, Paris (France), 2020
- Vesoul International Asiatic Film Festival, Vesoul (France), 2012
- Festival "All our German", Moscow (Russia), 2010
- "Spirit of Fire" International Debut Film Festival, Khanty Mansiysk (Russia), 2008
- Fall Festival 1998, Paris (France), 1998
- Open Russian Film Festival Kinotavr, Sochi (Russia), 1991