'Dos Mukasan' film;
Credit: Kazakhstan-Luxembourg Cooperation Asbl
The Kazakhstan-Luxembourg Cooperation Asbl has announced the first edition of a Kazakh film festival titled "Camera Focus: Kazakhstan", which will take place on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December 2026 at Cercle Cité (Auditorium Cité) in Luxembourg-Ville.
The festival is organised in partnership with the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg and Kazakhstan's national film studio Qazaqfilm, named after Shaken Aimanov. It builds on previous screenings of Kazakh films in Luxembourg, beginning with "Kazakh Khanate" (2019), directed by Rustem Abdrashev, followed by "Yellow Cat" and "Tulpan" in 2021, directed by Adylkhan Yerzhanov and Sergey Dvortsevoy, respectively. According to the organisers, "Tulpan" was named Best Movie of the Month by Cinémathèque critics, while "Yellow Cat" became the most popular film of the month at Kinepolis Kirchberg.
The programme features three films produced by Qazaqfilm, a studio founded in 1934. All three films will be screened in their original versions with English subtitles.
Friday 4 December, "Dos Mukasan" (2022) - 19:00
Directed by Aidyn Sakhamanov, this 100-minute Kazakh biographical drama follows a folk-rock band formed by polytechnic students in the 1970s. As the group rises to national fame, its members struggle to balance their engineering studies with their musical ambitions while facing censorship and concert bans in the Soviet Union.
Saturday 5 December, "My Name Is Kozha" (1964) - 17:00
Directed by Abdulla Karsakbayev, this 96-minute film from the Kazakh SSR tells the story of a quick-tempered twelve-year-old boy living in a Kazakh village after the Second World War. His stubborn honesty repeatedly gets him into trouble with adults, who mistake his behaviour for insolence.
"Qaitadan" (2025) - 19:30
Directed by Duman Erkimbek, this 101-minute Kazakh film follows an arrogant teenager from the city who is sent to a rural village after failing an exam. There, he becomes trapped in a mysterious time loop in which the same day repeatedly ends with a catastrophic dam breach. The story draws inspiration from a real-life tragedy in Kazakhstan.
Tickets cost €3.70 at the standard rate, €2.40 at the reduced rate and €1.50 for Kulturpass holders. They are available online via the Ville de Luxembourg website and the Luxembourg City cultural agenda.
