Impressions from the 10th Baiqonyr Film Festival’s first NETPAC Award.
Although this festival has been collaborating with Azerbaijan for several years, this was the first time the NETPAC award was presented — thanks to the initiative of Gulnara Abikeyeva there and one of the jury also represented Azerbaijan. And I can confidently say it was such a good initiative that it finally happened this year. Actually, collaboration of Azerbaijan Union of Filmmakers with NETPAC is crucial for AUF in order to enlarge Azerbaijani participation in world cinema. In this piece, I’ll outline the reasons one by one. As the Baiqonyr festival itself states, “NETPAC award marks an important professional and intercultural step for the festival, raising it to a new international level and opening broader opportunities not only for Kazakh cinema but also for the region as a whole. The presence of NETPAC reflects the growing interest of the global professional community in the festival’s program and high quality of the works showcased here.”
Let’s start with what Baiqonyr actually is — and why it holds such significance, especially for young people?
“Baiqonyr” derives from the Kazakh language and translates as “wealthy brown,” referring to fertile land abundant with herbs. It is the name of a city located in Kazakhstan, on the banks of the historic Syr Darya River, and more famously, the site of the world’s first and largest operational spaceport. It gained global recognition in 1961 as the launch site of the first human into space. However, Baiqonyr is not merely a city or a physical location. In Kazakhstan’s Ultau region, there is also a river that shares the exact name. Thus, with its meaning of “richness,” Baiqonyr serves as a powerful symbol of human exploration, ambition, and achievement, inspiring the aforementioned film festival.
In doing so, the festival also n affirms its deep connection to its Kazakh heritage while celebrating the spirit of discovery.
Every festival stands on three main pillars: its jury, its level of independence (whether it’s truly free in terms of artistic expression and freedom of speech or still influenced by certain powers), and finally, the strength of the films it screens. Starting with the first, this year’s Baiqonyr had an interesting setup: local juries evaluated international films, international juries judged local ones. NETPAC jury watched— made up of three international and seventeen local films. On top of that, a fourth team, composed of both local and international professionals, was invited to select the best debut international feature film. As for the films themselves, they stood out not just for the variety of themes, but also for the diversity of their origins. From the South Caucasus — Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia — to Central Asia — Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan — and even further to the Turkic-speaking Sakha Republic (Yakutia), and from the broader post-Soviet space — Belarus, Russia, and Moldova — each country brought its own world to the screen.
Another point worth mentioning is that this year marked the 10th edition of the festival — and it has become so popular among young people that whenever local films were screened, finding a place to sit could be a real challenge. Their sense of belonging to the festival and the energy they brought while cheering on the film crews was deeply felt by everyone around. You could truly feel the festive spirit just by looking at the excitement in their eyes. Of course, a festival aimed at youth wouldn’t be so beloved if it didn’t have a spirit of freedom at its core. One of the most striking things was how Baiqonyr has managed to maintain its independence throughout a decade.
Then comes the third pillar — the films submitted for competition. While most were made by young directors, the topics they explored and the issues they raised were far from limited to a young audience. These were universal themes approached from fresh, youthful perspectives — powerful enough to make the entire audience reflect. And that’s really what Baiqonyr is all about: being a platform for growth, offering support, believing in emerging voices, and helping bring out the true potential in those who have something to say.
It’s no coincidence that this festival draws attention not just from Almaty, not even just from across Kazakhstan — but from all over Central Asia. That interest is largely thanks to the festival’s approach and spirit. This broad regional engagement was especially clear in the NETPAC award section, where the selected films helped us better understand the geography they came from. By watching films from Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, we also got a clear sense of the cinematic trends shaping this region. Naturally, the competition among local films was much tougher — simply because most films for NETPAC competition were from Kazakhstan. Many of the directors were young, even students. But their age stood in stark contrast to the maturity of their work — films rich in universal messages and capable of speaking a global cinematic language. And for that, I genuinely feel the need to thank every young Kazakh filmmaker who poured their time and energy into these stories.
This festival doesn’t just showcase films — it also keeps a close eye on the trends and issues shaping the region each year, as if creating a platform for open and creative discussion around timely topics.
This year, Baiqonyr placed a strong focus on gender equality, discrimination against women, and the increasing presence of women’s stories in cinema. What made me especially happy was seeing that this focus wasn’t limited to the screen — it extended to the jury as well, where women were actively represented, and to the topics of the masterclasses, where these issues were openly addressed. It’s no coincidence that all three NETPAC jury members were female. There’s a popular saying in Azerbaijan: “A woman should be another woman’s home, not her enemy.” And in Almaty, I saw what that really looks like in practice. Even though I was the youngest of the three jurors ( Inna Smailova, Dalmyra Tilepbergenova and me) I felt genuine support and trust from the others — as a result I was chosen as the jury chairperson.
It is evident that this festival prioritizes the international recognition of films that are truly worthy of attention, rather than merely awarding a film that has already garnered numerous accolades. From this perspective, although it was somewhat challenging to select a winner, we adhered strictly to this principle. We were not there simply to select the strongest or the best. Talent, the ability to convey a message, and the capacity to communicate meaningfully through film do not always belong to a single production. This time was no exception. By unanimous decision, we awarded the victory to the film Ansar.
The film poses a powerful question: The responsibilities of a mother living in hardship — should she prioritize her job, or follow her maternal instinct? A mother is the most sensitive of human beings, yet the demands of her job must also be met on time. However, her young son, Ansar, who wishes to help her with physical tasks, also dreams of playing football with the neighborhood children. Nevertheless, he promises his mother that he will assist her with the chores.
What triumphs in the end — the innocent desire of a child to play, or the harsh necessity of fulfilling work obligations? What does the mother choose — compassion, kindness, and granting her son the freedom to experience his childhood, or the harsh responsibilities that life has imposed on her? Shot in black and white, this film brings to light some of the most fundamental and often overlooked questions of life. The mother-son relationship is portrayed briefly but with clarity and depth. Of course, the film’s duration could have been extended slightly. However, considering that most local productions are made on extremely limited budgets, we developed a genuine sense of admiration for this young team.
As a result, the award was granted to director Anurbek Khamitov. Luckily, several other films in our Top 5 — such as Helios, Keeping Anonymity, Qaran, and Berkut — were also acknowledged in the national category, each receiving distinct jury prizes based on various criteria.
Not only the films, but also its rich cinematic program, its role as host of the first-ever Almaty Series Festival, and the diverse financial support and awards granted to winners,initiatives such as the Critics Lab, explorations of “the history and contemporary trends of Yakut cinema” (led by Sardana Savvina), the presentation of the book “Independent Kazakh Cinema” (by Gulnara Abikeeva), and the panel “The Female Image in Central Asian and Kazakh Feature Films” (by Aida Mashurova), all contributed to the festival’s intellectual and cultural depth.
Moreover, the fiction film panel session “Women with dreams, films with soul”, and the documentary film panel session “Women with their Truths, through the lens of film memory”, along with numerous other distinctive masterclasses, solidify Baiqonyr not merely as a festival of Kazakhstan, but as a leading film and cultural platform for the entire Central Asian region.
If your journey takes you to Almaty, the city embraced by mountains and known as the city of apples, be sure to seek out Baiqonyr — a festivity rich with symbols. Seek it out to discover the nomadic spirit of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, the life beliefs in harmony with nature, and the ancient traces of Turkic heritage. Feel the wild call of freedom, the endless steppes, the snow-capped peaks, the youth ready to face any challenge for the sake of cultural growth, the experienced cinema professionals who gladly support you, and above all, the free spirit that bows to nothing — all brought to life through its films.
Until we meet again at the next Baiqonyr Film Festival!
Afag Yusufi
Azerbaijan Union of Filmmakers
Afag Yusufi
She is the founder of the Izzat Cinema Award, the first initiative in Azerbaijan dedicated to recognizing female filmmakers in the country. As an Azerbaijani filmmaker and producer with a background in philology from Baku Slavic University she graduated film directing from the Rustam Ibragimbekov Film School. A recipient of multiple international accolades, including the New Talents Caucasus (CineDoc Tbilisi) and KinoLab Pitching Awards, she has also been recognized at BelDocs Industry Days 2025 with the DAE Talent Encouragement Award.
As a leader in the film community, she serves as the deputy chair of the Young Filmmakers` Association and international relations/ project manager at the Azerbaijan Union of Filmmakers. As not only the head of AKIDocs – an international documentary development and pitching project, she has lead 6 cinema project under AUF. She is a CHANGE 2024–2025 cohort producer participant with the project Kura, and has represented Azerbaijani cinema at various festivals and programs including WARM Academy (Sarajevo), Meeting Point Vilnius (Lithuania), and Tashkent IFF, Baygonyr FF. She has served on pre-selection and expert panel member in and Sevil International Women’s Documentary Film Festival and Alpavirami International Youth Film Festival (India) respectively. As a film researcher and writer, she has authored several cinema articles on Azerbaijani and documentary cinema.