SYNOPSIS. Technical Specs:

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1 SYNOPSIS SEIDE * Orizzonti Shorts competition, 72nd Venice Film Festival, 2015 Young Seide lives in a secluded mountain village in the heart of Kyrgyzstan. She loves her freedom to ride her horse, the closest soul she has, and enjoys playing with the village boys. When she is faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage, her family decides to honor the tradition and kill Seide's horse for the wedding celebration. Upset and feeling voiceless, Seide tries to understand her family s decision but cannot let her horse be killed. Unfortunately, the horse, like herself, has nowhere to go. Technical Specs: Runtime: Color: Screening format: Audio: 13:40 min Color DCP 5.1 Surround Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 Language: Camera: Lens: Kyrgyz Red Scarlett Zeiss Compact Prime SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 1 of 7

2 DIRECTOR S STATMENT I set out to make a sad beautiful film about growing up and losing the illusion of freedom. As we grow into adults, with increasing frequency, life gives us hard choices to make and we often need to compromise our dreams. However, despite these challenges, in the hardest and least assuring minutes and hours, we should continue doing the best we can. - Filmmaker Elnura Osmonalieva SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 2 of 7

3 CAST AND CREW Seide Horse Father Grandmother Sister Hunter Horsemen 1 Horsemen 2 Horsemen 3 Horsemen 4 Kaliman Kalybek kyzy Torka Kanat Abdrahmanov Razha Alieva Syiapat Abdrahmanova Stanbek Toichubaev Aziz Aliev Eldar Sydykov Kutman Saynidinov Mirlan Ismailov Written by Directed by Executive Producer Produced by Produced by Associate Produced by Cinematography by Director of Sound Edited by Stunt coordinator Horse wrangler Art Director Art Decorator Costume Designer First Assistant Director Second Assistant Director Production Manager First Assistant Camera Gaffers Boom Operator Sound Assistant Production Assistant and Translator Translator Drivers Elnura Osmonalieva Elnura Osmonalieva Tolondu Toichubaev Elnura Osmonalieva Charlotte Rabate Stanbek Toichubaev Chananun Chotrungroj Andrei Nikitin Viktor Opekin Kanat Abdrakhmanov Kanat Abdrakhmanov Myrsini Aristidou Elchibek Shamenov Inara Abdieva Cholponai Borubaeva Dominik Waldstaetten Jyrgalbek Duisheev Evgeniy Krohmalenko Joldosh Akmataliev, Tynchtyk Bayastanov Bekjan Adamkulov Ignatyi Opekin Jibek Satarova Asel Osmonalieva Chingiz Oskanov, Azamat Karasartov SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 3 of 7

4 ABOUT THE CAST Kaliman Kalybek Kyzy (Seide) I am a college student in Bishkek and I have never traveled outside of my home country, Kyrgyzstan. Last winter I had a dream: in my dream I was acting for a film and my job was to race on a horse. I woke up with a burning desire to become an actress. You know, one of these things young girls dream of. Two days later, I got a phone call from Stanbek Toichubaev who invited me to a casting session and a few days later, I was on set training with a wonderful and smart horse. It was truly amazing. It was very hard and challenging too. I am a professional athlete and a village girl, so I was prepared for this role in many ways. I was raised in a family with a similar lifestyle to Seide s. My parents also find it hard to pay for my studies. However, luckily for me, they are willing to do their best and support me through college instead of telling me to get married. Kanat Abdrakhmanov (Father) I was raised by a very strong mother who supported my decision to train as an actor, although actors do not make much money. I also set out to train as a stuntman and had a great teacher. In my film work, I am often able to combine the two. Last year, I was in Malaysia acting as a double for the lead actor of the Marco Polo TV series. It was a great experience. In January 2015, director Elnura Osmonalieva invited me to join her cast of SEIDE. I was very happy to learn that I would also be a stuntman and a horse wrangler. I got to train that wonderful horse and I believe it did very well. I had three days to do what normally would take me two months. Razha Alieva (Grandmother) I am a mother of five and a grandmother of thirteen. I was trained and worked as a nurse until I retired. I grew up in a family where we were taught to be strong and hardworking. When Elnura offered me to play Seide s grandmother in her short film, I agreed because I liked the story a lot. I myself had to get married when I was 17 years old and could not continue my education beyond nursing courses. I like acting and I hope I can act in other films and help directors tell good stories. SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 4 of 7

5 ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS Elnura Osmonalieva (Writer-Director-Producer) is a writer and director from Kyrgyzstan. She was born in Kyrgyzstan, the heart of Central Asia, in She attended a Soviet school and later studied in the US just a few years following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. She is an advocate for art and education. Her works explore human experiences in the circumstances of poverty and strong societal pressures. She is a mother of three and currently pursuing her MFA in Directing at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts where she is a recipient of the Steven J. Ross fellowship. Elnura received the Kyrgyz National Film Award Snow Leopard in 2013 and has been awarded for The Best Auteur Film of Central Asia in She wrote and directed SEIDE with her infant son on set, which doubled the challenge of making a film she set out to make but was a positive experience nevertheless. Chananun Chotrungroj (Director of Photography) is a Thai artist /cinematographer based in New York City. In 2005, she was an Artist-inResidence at the Korean National Contemporary Art Museum in Seoul and her photography and installations have been exhibited in Bangkok, Seoul, and Beijing. She received Best Cinematography for her first short film, Sink, at the 2010 Singapore Short Film Awards, Best Director for short film Home Coming at the 2011 Fusion Film Festival Best Cinematography for Karaoke Girl at Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards 2014 and Best Cinematography from Starpics Thai Film Awards Her latest works include the feature film Yosemite, featuring James Franco and Henry Hopper, which premiered at the Slamdance Film festival in The same year, her other work "Lerato" got selected at SXSW She is currently pursuing a MFA in Film at NYU, where she was awarded the Ang Lee Fellowship and Department Fellowship and received the Nestor Almendros Award for Outstanding Cinematography by a woman twice in 2013 and Tolondu Toichubaev (Executive Producer) Tolondu Toichubaev, (Executive Producer) is a businessman and philanthropist based in New York and Kyrgyzstan. He runs projects in the sphere of medicine and education in China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Tolondu is a cofounder of Oy-Art film production company and the president of the biannual Auteur Film Festival in Kyrgyzstan. He is a founder of TOLON MUSEUM (contemporary art) and Bilimkana Foundation which establishes and runs quality schools in rural Kyrgyzstan. Charlotte Rabate (Producer) is a French writer/director and producer who lives in New York. Her short film "Lucille in the Sky" premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival where it received a special mention. Her latest short film "Man", shot in Thailand, won the Amazing Thai Film Challenge. As producer, Charlotte s film "Love Comes Later" premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, and is presently being developed into a feature film. Charlotte earned a Bachelor s degree from the London School of Economics and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, with generous support from the W.T.C. Johnson Scholarship and the Tisch Scholarship. SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 5 of 7

6 Stanbek Toichubaev (Associate Producer) is founder and chief manager of Ashu Guesthouse in Kyrgyzstan. His acting debut in director Elnura Osmonalieva s short film FAREWELL brought him roles in a number of Kyrgyz films, including SEIDE. Stanbek is a talented producer and actor and his business proved itself to be an excellent hub for a large film crew. Andrei Nikitenko (Director of Sound) studied at the St. Petersburg University of Cinema and Television. He has over 10 years of work experience as director of sound in over 15 films. Currently, he lives in Saint Petersburg and is hoping to work internationally. Myrsini Aristidou (Art Director) born in Limassol Cyprus, Myrsini is currently receiving her MFA in Directing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. In 2013 she completed her BFA in Film and History of Art, at Pratt Institute in New York. Her latest works include the short film Semele (2015), official selection at TIFF, the short film Patterns (2014), a short documentary shot in Argentina Ma' (2014), the award winning short film Not Now (2013) (ISFFC Best Directing Award), and the short documentary Lost Hopes (2011). In the summer of 2011, Myrsini worked as an Assistant Director to the TV series Secrets of Eden in Athens, Greece, and with the award winning stage, film and television director Mirra Bank (New York) in the post-production of her latest documentary The Only Real Game, which won Best Documentary at the New York Indian Film Festival. Victor Opekin (Editor) studied at the Yaroslavl State University in Russia and has worked for television and production studios. He directed two films and was a director of photography in several films in Russia. He has been working in the Russian Film industry since Currently he is based in Saint Petersburg where he lives with his wife and three kids. SEIDE press kit 2015 Venice Film Festival, page 6 of 7