Why Won’t Kazakhstan Be at the Oscars Yet Again?

In October, Yerlan Bukharbayev, an independent consultant for the production company Tiger Films, wrote that the horror film Cadet had been removed from the list of submissions for Best International Feature Film following a decision by the Oscar’s Selection Committee.

“The League of Cinematographers, which eagerly set out to write a complaint that Cadet was not worthy of the Oscars, has gotten its way: Our film has been removed from the Oscar’s participation list.”

Bukharbayev went on to say that, “according to the League, Cadet’s cinematographer Yerkinbek Ptyraliyev was supposedly a member of the selection commission and voted for his own film.”

Indeed, Ptyraliyev is the only Kazakhstani member of the Academy. But Bukharbayev said that Ptyraliyev did not vote for his own movie.

“Now, Kazakhstan will not participate in the American Academy awards in 2026, because the application deadline has passed, and therefore it is no longer possible to send a new film on behalf of the country,” Bukharbayev concluded.

The League of Cinematographers responded to Bukharbayev’s posts by denying his claims, but the evidence tells a different story. In their letter to the Oscars, the League explicitly claimed that the “conflict of interest” had arisen “because one member of the selection committee was also the cameraman of the chosen film.”

The League added that they wanted the process to be fair and transparent and also suggested considering other candidates for the award, such as Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Steppe Wolf and Farkhat Sharipov’s Evacuation.

However, the authors of the letter failed to consider that the application deadline had already passed, and that the committee would not wait for Kazakhstan to vote again and choose a film that satisfies everyone. Plus, Steppe Wolf was considered by the local Oscars committee last year, but lost to Askhat Kuchinchirekov’s film Adoption. Sharipov’s Evacuation is about the Second World War and narrates the Soviet Union’s difficult struggle against Nazi Germany, and its major premiere took place in Moscow. No matter how high-quality the film turned out, and no matter how skilled Sharipov is, it would not have been successful at the Oscars given the current political climate. Anyone following international news over the past three years would understand why.

We requested a comment from Aidar Batalov, the author of the letter and head of the League of Cinematographers. Although he initially agreed to comment, he ultimately declined our request.

Not the First Time

Two years ago, we wrote about another incident, when Kazakhstan’s local committee did not propose a single movie, saying that none were worthy of the Oscars. Yet, that year, several films were shown at major film festivals abroad. Yeldar Shibanov’s Mountain Onion (Venice Film Festival), Yerzhanov’s Seeking Education (Warsaw Film Festival), Askhat Kuchinchirekov’s Adoption (San Sebastian Film Festival, sent to the Oscars a year later). Other movies could have been considered: Askar Uzabayev’s Happiness (winner of the Audience Award at the Berlinale), Farkhat Sharipov’s Scheme (winner of the grand prix at the Berlinale), or Aisultan Seitov’s Kash (winner for best director at the Shanghai Film Festival).

A year later, three public associations– the National Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, headed by Rashid Nugmanov; the Union of Cinematographers, led by Adai Abildinov; and Aidar Batalov’s League of Cinematographers–set up the Tulpar Award to choose the right candidate to go to the Oscars. Last year, Kuchinchirekov’s Adoption was ultimately proposed.

This year the award ceremony did not take place.

Bukharbayev told Vlast his company Tiger Films had nothing to do with the decisions of the Oscar Committee in Kazakhstan.

“Had Cadet been both nominated and withdrawn by the Committee, there would be no questions. Absolutely nobody would have been at fault. But here we are. Was it necessary for the League of Cinematographers to damage the country’s reputation before the whole world? We are perhaps the only country that complains about itself,” Bukharbayev said.

While scandals and resentment over the Academy Awards are not new to Kazakhstan’s film industry, this is the first time they have spilled onto the international stage.

Was Cadet the Right Choice?

There is no argument about that. Yerzhanov is one of the most renowned directors in Kazakhstan’s auteur cinema, and this matters in an Oscars race. The masters of world cinema speak of his skill. For example, four-time laureate Alfonso Cuarón highly praised Cadet.

“I rushed to show it to my director colleagues Guillermo del Toro and Paweł Pawlikowski,” Cuarón said. “They were also amazed, and I hope that many people will appreciate Cadet, because it’s one of those rare films that, while being very universal, narrates the specific problems of its country and the patriarchal system within that country.”

To be successful at the Oscars a film should align with the global cinematic conjuncture, and from this perspective, Cadet was a perfect candidate. It speaks to the military conflicts that have shaken the world in recent years. Although the story unfolds in a fictional world, it references a specific date: 24 February 2022 [the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine].

Cadet references recurring violence, the human-devilish passion for war, and the propensity for destroying one’s own kind. It also reveals this hinges upon a patriarchal system built on the cult of strength, a desperate need for love, and a sick ego.

Yerzhanov once again showed his world where real life is intertwined with surreal horror and collective myth. Regrettably, this effort was wasted when it came to nominations for the Oscars. Whatever the League’s intentions, the controversy has cast a long shadow over our entire country’s film industry.

Our industry will not progress until our filmmakers put an end to their internal conflicts and squabbles. What matters is sending the best film of the year to the Academy Awards. If a picture from Kazakhstan makes it to the shortlist, or, better, into the list of nominees, Kazakhstan’s entire film industry will reap the benefits. It doesn’t matter which film, as long as it is the best one.

An edited version of this article was translated by Yerassyl Nurlykhanov.

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