Aktan Arym Kubat’s film Kara Kyzyl Sary has won the UNESCO Cultural Diversity Award at the APSA Awards. The film’s producer, Altynai Koichumanova, announced.
The awards ceremony will take place on November 28 in Gold Coast, Australia, as part of the 18th APSA Awards.
The APSA Awards, established in 2007 with the support of UNESCO, FIAPF, and the Australian Government, recognize the outstanding achievements of filmmakers from more than 70 countries in the region, which represents approximately half of the world’s film industry.
The APSA is often referred to as the «Asian Oscars» for its high international profile and the scale of its professional community. Today, the APSA Film Academy comprises over 1,380 leading directors and filmmakers, including winners of Cannes, the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Globe, and Oscars.
The UNESCO Cultural Diversity Award is awarded to films that promote the preservation and development of cultural traditions and address humanistic and socially significant themes.
This isn’t Aktan Arym Kubat’s first APSA victory: his film Esimde won the Grand Jury Prize in 2022.
Kara Kyzyl Sary is based on a short story by writer Topchugul Shaidullaeva. Filming took place in Batken region. The story centers on the life of carpet weaver Turdugul, a craftswoman with a profound inner world. Her art—the ancient craft of weaving—reflects the lives and personalities of the people for whom she creates carpets. The film explores themes of love and moral choice within the family, and also raises issues of migration and everyday life in the republic’s border regions.
