The producer, member of the Main Competition Jury Gulnara Sarsenova and the director Ivan Oganesov presented the film You Were Promised to Me participating in Blockbusters from Around the World programme of 46th Moscow International Film Festival.
The film tells a story about a group of Muslim fundamentalists, which escapes from the Aktau city prison. They stage a terrorist attack on the film set in front of the young actress Taira. Struggling to cope with stress, she seeks peace in her brother’s house, who lives nearby, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. There she meets Marius, an ornithologist from Europe. Helping him photograph birds, she falls in love with him, not knowing that he is the leader of the terrorists. Taira’s heart is tearing out to see the hands of a loved one in her brother’s blood. And she has to make the worst choice of her life.
Ivan Oganesov: "The project started with an idea described just on two pages, and we started developing it. We created many things on the go. We had a unique chance to visit Mangistau while the script was still being written. And right on the ground, in those locations, we looked for inspiration and found solutions to scenes, which hadn't been drafted yet. So, the storyline emerged at the same time with the initial scouting, which is very cool. When we met the crew, it was clear right from the first day of shooting that they were ready to risk anything for the film. We filmed during a sandstorm, in downpours, in the mountains, for which we had to drive 4 hours every day, back and forth. And no one complained, everyone did their job. And Kazakhstan's nature is a piece of art, the beauty in each frame is not our merit. We just had to set the camera in the right direction and shoot".
Gulnara Sarsenova: "We had a Russian and Kazakh shooting crew, because I understood that some professionals (directors, script writers, cameramen) were much better than ours. You might regret it or be happy about it. Kazakhstan's cinema became independent 30 years ago. But, unfortunately, there is a gap of 5-7 years, even with the Russian cinema industry. And we need to learn at the same shooting set to be able to bridge the gap with Russia's cinema, at least when it comes to technologies".
The film tells a story about a group of Muslim fundamentalists, which escapes from the Aktau city prison. They stage a terrorist attack on the film set in front of the young actress Taira. Struggling to cope with stress, she seeks peace in her brother’s house, who lives nearby, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. There she meets Marius, an ornithologist from Europe. Helping him photograph birds, she falls in love with him, not knowing that he is the leader of the terrorists. Taira’s heart is tearing out to see the hands of a loved one in her brother’s blood. And she has to make the worst choice of her life.
Ivan Oganesov: "The project started with an idea described just on two pages, and we started developing it. We created many things on the go. We had a unique chance to visit Mangistau while the script was still being written. And right on the ground, in those locations, we looked for inspiration and found solutions to scenes, which hadn't been drafted yet. So, the storyline emerged at the same time with the initial scouting, which is very cool. When we met the crew, it was clear right from the first day of shooting that they were ready to risk anything for the film. We filmed during a sandstorm, in downpours, in the mountains, for which we had to drive 4 hours every day, back and forth. And no one complained, everyone did their job. And Kazakhstan's nature is a piece of art, the beauty in each frame is not our merit. We just had to set the camera in the right direction and shoot".
Gulnara Sarsenova: "We had a Russian and Kazakh shooting crew, because I understood that some professionals (directors, script writers, cameramen) were much better than ours. You might regret it or be happy about it. Kazakhstan's cinema became independent 30 years ago. But, unfortunately, there is a gap of 5-7 years, even with the Russian cinema industry. And we need to learn at the same shooting set to be able to bridge the gap with Russia's cinema, at least when it comes to technologies".