Official Statements:

Kazakh movie nominated for Oscar

For the first time in history there is a Kazakh movie mentioned in the short-list for Oscar. Although the motion picture is actually a joint venture of Russian and Kazakh sides, the nomination was made on behalf of Kazakhstan.

Nominations for the 80th Annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday, January 22, with “Mongol” announced among five other nominees for Best foreign language film of the year. This is certainly a more serious success of the Kazakh cinematography.

The 15 million euro ($21.93 million) film was financed by private Kazakh investors and partly filmed in the steppes and mountains of Kazakhstan, a country the size of Western Europe populated by the descendants of nomadic tribes.

At the February 24 Academy Awards in Hollywood, “Mongol” will compete against “The Counterfeiters” from Austria, “Katyn” from Poland, the Israeli war drama “Beaufort”" and Russia's “12”.

About the film

Don’t scorn a cub, he may turn out to be the son of a tiger

Mongolian saying

The East and West, despite Kipling’s claim that they will never meet, are being united for the new film by Sergei Bodrov Sr., “Mongol. Part One”. The project, with a budget of 15 million euros, is a major international co-production with the participation of Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, China and Mongolia.

Even before reaching the screen, “Mongol. Part One” has been recognized as a key project with multi-million budget. For example, Kazakh company “Eurasiafilm” presented 30% of all budget of piture.

The director of the film is Sergei Bodrov Sr., a filmmaker with an established name who has won renown in Russia and abroad. One of his films, “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”, was nominated for an Oscar. His next film, “The Quickie”, was in competition at the Moscow International Film Festival. A more recent film, “Bear’s Kiss”, was in competition at the Venice International Film Festival.

The screenplay for “Mongol. Part One” was written by Bodrov with Arif Aliev, with whom Bodrov worked on the screenplay for “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”. The script for “The Mongol. Part One” has been translated into several languages.

The shooting took place, for the most part, in Kazakhstan (70%). The main location for the action was Inner Mongolia; a Chinese province inhabited by more Mongolians than Mongolia itself.

The film’s chief artist is Dashi Namdakov, an artist whose works can be founded in the world’s most prestigious galleries and museums and whose sculptures are featured in the private collections of the Russian President and the leaders of many foreign states.

The directors of photography are Sergei Trofimov, who shot two Russian box office hits of recent years, “Night Watch” and “Day Watch”, and the Dutchman Rogier Stoffers, who shot “Quills” and the Oscar-winning ”Character”.

The lead role in “Mongol. Part One” is being played by an international star, the Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, who has appeared in such renowned films as Nagisa Oshima’s “Taboo” (“Gohatto”) and Takeshi Kitano’s “Zatoichi”.

One of the main roles, that of Targutai, enemy of Temudgin, is played by the actor Amadu Mamadakov, star of “The 9th Company”, directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk, and the television series “Soldiers”, as well as being a member of the Et Cetera theater troupe. Amadu is the only Russian actor taking part in the project.

    To play the role of Borte, wife of Temudgin, the director selected a Mongolian student-journalist, Khulan Chuluun.

    The role of Dzhamukha — Temudgin’s friend — is being played the Chinese filmstar Honglei Sun, who starred in the renowned film “Seven Swords”, directed by Hark Tsui.

The film has enough major battle scenes to justify comparisons with Sergei Bondarchuk’s adaptation of “War and Peace”.

    The shooting of the film began in September of 2005 and finished in November of 2006. The film was released in cinemas in the autumn of 2007.