Kazakh filmmaker releases short film about bullying

Kazakh actor and filmmaker Sanjar Madi has released a short film about the bullying problem. According to its authors, the film tells the story of a family whose members face aggression and pressure towards themselves and they continue to spread negativity further in chain order.

Thus, the creators of the short film tried to draw public attention to the bullying cases. The film shows that often such situations occur not only at school, but also at work and at home. Author of idea of the film Yerulan Kussainov said that this phenomenon has a cyclical character and frequently we ourselves become the cause.

“I think that we managed to show interesting stories and by watching them, everyone will be able to see themselves or recognize familiar narratives and plots. The purpose was to show life as it is, a real life. We tried to touch upon many important things in a person’s life. It has to do with aggression, with bullying,” Kussainov said.

Despite the fact that the project is social, the film involves many celebrities, starring such actors as Azat Seitmetov and Assel Sagatova. A joint song by Irina Kairatovna and Hiro was chosen as the soundtrack of the film. An interesting fact is that the film was shot in just one day in two locations.

“I knew what words to use, because my mother is an English teacher. During the pandemic, she really faced the problems that are shown in the short film. This is a story about a broken microphone, a real-life story. I helped my mother set up the computer, of course, we weren’t that much nervous, but experienced such a story,” Madi commented.

According to experts, almost every second teenager in Kazakhstan, in one way or another, experienced bullying. The problem worsened during the pandemic, when cyberbullying began to spread more actively. Adults also have to deal with manifestation of psychological terror and aggression at work. The film is made publicly available on YouTube.

 

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova