The VII Eurasia International Film Festival was held in Almaty in 2011. It opened with the premiere screening of the film “Return to “A”, shot by the joint forces of Russian and Kazakh cinematographers. The film forum was attended by world-class stars – Sigourney Weaver, John Cusack, Nastasia Kinski and others. South Korean director Kim Ki Duk headed the international jury. A lot of foreign journalists, A-class film festival selectors, producers and distributors also came to the festival.
One of the most important events of the film festival was the first “Kazakhstan Market of Film Projects” – a professional platform for cinematographers, in which 8 out of 65 scenario applications were selected. As a result, three scripts received funding to launch and co-produce with European film studios.
A funny episode happened with the American actress and producer Sigourney Weaver, who received a special prize for her contribution to world cinema. During the award ceremony, she wore a national Kazakh kamzol, which allowed Kazakhfilm President Yermek Amanshev, who presented the prize, to call her a “Kazakh representative of Hollywood.” After that, the actress joked that from now on she would be called nothing but Sigournigul.
Winners:
Grand Prix for the best film – “Before the Storm” (Japan – Kazakhstan), dir. Sano Shinju and Yerlan Nurmukhambetov.
Prize for the best director 's work – Nariman Turebaev (“Sunny days”, Kazakhstan).
Prize for the best female role – Olga Simonova (“Bedouin”, Russia).
Prize for the best male role – Theodor Juliusson (“Volcano”, Iceland).
FIPRESCI Jury Prize – “Busong” (Philippines), dir. Oraus Solito.
NETPAC Jury Prize – “Lead” (Uzbekistan), dir. Zulfikar Musakov.
