TULPAN Showcase Kazakhstan

One of the most delightful works to come out of the Cannes and Toronto film festivals this year, Sergey Dvortsevoy’s tale centers on Asa, a Kazakh sailor who returns home and dreams of life as a shepherd on the windswept and remote plains of the Kazakh steppe Complications ensue when Asa’s stoic brother in-law holds back on giving him his own flock until Asa finds a wife. However, there is only one girl of marrying age in the village, and she rejects him. The elusive Tulpon, Asa’s titular beloved, will not be swayed, either by his boastful tales of bottling octopi, nor by gentle persuasion Like many rural Kozokhs, the girl has dreams of the big city. TULPAN is filled with breathtaking scenes-the birth of a lamb, a mother camel tormenting a veterinarian-all captured beautifully by the mostly hand-held camera. The film also features many memorable characters, including Asa’s best friend, a truck driver with a penchant for pornography and Russian pop, and Asa’s devoted sister and her precocious children (all remarkable performances by mostly nonprofessional actors) For his first narrative feature, Sergey Dvortsevoy, known for his award-winning documentaries , has crafted on exceptionally charming, funny and thoroughly engaging portrait of life in rural Kazakhstan.