Kazakh animation is 55 years old: difficulties and successes of animation in Kazakhstan

On October 28, animators all over the world celebrate their professional holiday. And Kazakhstani animation is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year. The Zakon.kz correspondent visited the forge of animation production, where Kazakh animators told what has changed over the years in the field of animated films and what surprises the sophisticated viewer now.

History of Kazakh animation

Animation director “Why does the swallow have a tail with horns” Amen Khaidarov can be safely called the founder of Kazakh animation.

The cartoon “Why does the swallow have a tail with horns” was created based on the fairy tale of the same name. The premiere took place in September 1967 in Moscow. The animation project has traveled to 48 countries around the world. The cartoon received a prize in the cartoon section at the III All-Union Film Festival in Leningrad in 1968, won a bronze award for a children’s film at the III New York Animated Film Festival in 1974.

The animated works of the talented artist Amen Khaydarov “Aksak Kulan”, “Tail”, “Khoja-Nasyr – Builder”, “Sunny Bunny”, “Forty Fables” and others also entered the golden fund of Kazakh animation.

In total, for more than half a century, Kazakhstani specialists have created about 200 animated films, among which there are laureates of international competitions. To date, there are about 30 operating private animation companies in Kazakhstan.

Also this year, the dream of Kazakh animators finally came true. On the basis of the film studio “Kazakhfilm” named after Shaken Aimanov, a new creative association “Kazakhanimatsiya” was opened, the members of which had the opportunity to undergo internships in foreign companies. In November, Kazakh specialists visited foreign studios in Turkey, France, Poland and Spain to improve their skills in the field of animation.

After the release of feature-length cartoons “Muzbalak” (2018) and “Kultegin” (2018), our animators didn’t have much to brag about. Basically, Kazakhfilm produces cartoons commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, this circumstance helps workers in this area to somehow survive in the conditions of the modern market. Today the situation is radically changing for the better.

Now, on the basis of the film studio, specialists are preparing several cartoons for small Kazakh viewers for a big release. This is a short “Tree of Amen aga” and a 70 minute animated feature “Altyn Adam”.

About the cartoon “Tree Amen aga”

“Tree Amen aga” is planned to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Amen Khaidarov.

The short cartoon (duration 10 minutes) “Tree Amen aga” will be seen by Kazakhstanis only in the summer of 2023. Director Zhanadil Baidarbekov is working on creating a fascinating story together with the creative association “Kazakhanimatsia” by order of the State Center for National Cinema Support. According to him, the work on the cartoon has already been completed.

“The story tells about the episodes of Khaidarov’s creative life, how he worked, what difficulties the artist faced during the filming process. The plot is based on memories and information from Baurzhan Nugerbekov’s book “When fairy tales come to life.” The name of the animated film is associated with the image of the Kazakh animation tree, the seed of which was planted and grown by Amen Khaydarov himself.Director of the film Zhanadil Baidarbekov

In the future, the cartoon is planned to be presented at various international festivals and shown on television.

About the cartoon “Altyn Adam”

Work on this cartoon has been going on for three years. Due to financial problems, the completion of the project had to be postponed several times.

And the story itself is about the adventures of a Saka boy who goes to Khan Tengri Peak in search of the Fire of Life. For his brave spirit, the boy was nicknamed “The Golden Man”. In the story, he fights with enemies and becomes a real warrior.

“The idea of ​​creating the project came to me while working on the Muzbalak cartoon. You know, the Golden Man was found during the excavations of the Issyk mound, and this is our story, embodying the civilization and culture of those times. It is important to tell children about our Kazakh heroes to introduce them to culture and history”.Directed by Turdybek Maidan

The animators are sure that the new character “Altyn Adam” will be no less popular with the young viewer than his predecessors – Aldar Kose, Ertostik and Aksak Kulan.

The cartoon about the “Golden Man” is filmed in 2D in the genre of action and fantasy, and it is designed for children from five to 15 years old. It is known that the actors of the theater named after M. Lermontov will be involved in dubbing in Russian. And for the voice acting of the characters in the Kazakh language, they will conduct a casting.

The team is preparing an animated film for distribution. The cartoon will be released in two languages ​​with English subtitles. There is no exact premiere date yet.

Also, the head of the TO “Kazakhanimatsia” Zhanibek Orazaly named the problems that the animation film industry in our country is facing today.

“Kazakhstan, unfortunately, does not yet release animated series, such as, for example, the popular Russian cartoon Masha and the Bear. But we hope that with the advent of the Kazakhanimation association, we will be able to create our own Kazakhstani brand, which we can be proud of.”Zhanibek Orazaly

He also noted that our specialists need a professional exchange, and there is a long overdue need to train Kazakh children abroad. Technology does not stand still, you constantly need to improve your skills.

Zhanibek Orazaly also explained that there is a desire to open a branch of foreign animation studios in Kazakhstan for the exchange of experience.

The head of the Kazakhanimation creative association explained that there are no problems with personnel in the field of animation in our country, young people are willing to go into this profession and the pay is decent, but there are gaps in funding. And also, according to him, until today the state had no interest in the production of such patriotic content in the Kazakh language.

“One of the main problems is the small amount of the budget. For example, it takes an average of 300 thousand dollars to create one 7-minute episode of Masha and the Bear. It turns out that the budget of three episodes is more than the annual budget of the Balapan TV channel. And we have As you can imagine, there are no such funds.Zhanibek Orazaly

The specialist is confident that five years will pass and our country will win its place in the world of animation and, if it does not remove foreign products from the screens, then at least it will claim the title of the best animation in the world on an equal footing.

Among other positive aspects of the development of our domestic animation, it can be noted that the Association of Animation Film Studios has been operating since 2018, which holds many events, including the annual AMEN animation film festival.

FROM 5 to 8 December Almaty is already hosting the 4th AMEN International Animated Film Festival, traditionally organized by the Ozge Epic contemporary art space and the Association of Animated Film Studios of Kazakhstan.

As part of the competition, 20 short cartoons launched this year will be shown. This time, eight nominations were announced for participation: “Best Professional Animated Film”, “Best Student Film”, “Best Animated Series”, “Best Screenplay”, “Best Artistic Solution”, “Special Jury Prize”, “Amen Khaidarov Special Award”, “Kazakhstan Association of Animation Film Studios Special Award” and Grand Prix in the amount of 500 thousand tenge.