Kazakh film ‘Paralympian’ premieres in Berlin

Kazakh film ‘Paralympian’ premieres in Berlin

The film ‘Paralympian’ had its European premiere in Berlin as part of the Days of Kazakh Cinema. The plot of the Kazakh film is based on the story of a skier who dreamed of conquering the sports Olympus. However, because of an accident, the main character of the film is completely deprived of the opportunity to continue his sports career. However, his life radically changes after he meets with Paralympians. The sports drama is gripping, as the main intriguing moment in the movie is whether he will be able to overcome all the difficulties and make his dream come true or not.

“I was touched by the movie. I really enjoyed it. It’s a sad, but beautiful story about a guy who wanted to achieve a lot in sports. However, everything has changed suddenly, and his life has turned dark. Luckily, he meets with the new friends who help him to cope with it, and he begins achieving his goal in a new way,” Matthias Follert, head of the Department of South Caucasus and Central Asia of the German Foreign Ministry, said.

“I am fascinated by this movie. The authors combined a tense story with a lot of emotions that we experience along with the characters. You get happy, and then sad, because you are rooting for them. This movie is about a career, family, and friendship. I am really impressed,” said spectator Marie-Christine Knop.

After the movie screening, the spectators had a great opportunity to meet with the filmmakers, who had specially arrived at the premiere. The audience was able to learn more about the shooting process and the difficulties the film crew faced behind the scenes.

“I was inspired by the real story of our Paralympic Alexander Kolyadin, who won a gold medal at the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang. We wanted to make a movie that would motivate people. I wanted them to get inspired for big achievements after watching our film. We were filming when there were freezing temperatures outside. In Shchuchinsk, our sets were blown away by the wind. Askar Ilyassov was wearing a thin ski suit, which was designed for the professional athlete to wear for a short period of time just to perform. But, the actors had to do several takes. The whole team was trying to warm him. It was hard on a constant basis. Plus, at first many of our actors did not know how to ski. Elena Khrustaleva, who is our Olympic champion, managed to put actors on skis literally in a month,” said filmmaker Aldiyar Bairakimov.

The film Paralympian has already begun its journey around the world. Before Berlin, the movie premiered in Tashkent. Next it is planned to present the film in France and the U.S.