The Kazakh drama Scream (Айқай), directed by Kenzhebek Shaikakov won awards in four categories at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema (VIFFAC), QazMonitor reports.
On February 6-13, the French city of Vesoul hosted the 30th edition of the VIFFAC, a platform dedicated to showcasing and promoting Asian cinema. It serves as a vital avenue for emerging voices to connect with European distributors, fostering intercultural dialogue and encouraging cultural exploration through cinematic experiences.
The feature film tells the story of a single father and his son living near the infamous Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Scream received praise for its commendable “magical realism,” with the jury board noting Shaikakov's resonating approach to condemning nuclear tests, leading the movie to be awarded the Grand Jury Award.
The movie also received the NETPAC award (Network for The Promotion of Asian Cinema), the Marc Haaz Award, which it shared with the Indian feature The Spark by Rajesh Jala, and a Special Mention for the lead performances by Orynbek Shaimagambetov and Arnur Akram, who received it alongside Tseten Tashi for his work in Chinese-Tibetan movie The Snow Leopard by Pema Tseten.