Joqtau
Young Darkhan returns to his village after a seven-year absence to accompany his late grandfather on an imagined journey to his ancestral home to learn the ways of his elders and the gradual loss of their traditional customs and language.
Tickets
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Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Thursday, May 22, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Monday, May 26 - Sunday, June 1, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Young Kazak Darkhan has been gone from his homeland for seven years. A death in the family causes him to return and, with his girlfriend Elena in tow, embark on an exploration of ancestry, connection, and place. With Darkhan’s grandfather guiding them, the family tours their land and the dearly held traditions and rituals of its people. Darkhan and Elena are both family and foreign, with Elena’s documentation of the stunning landscapes on her camera capturing the mundane daily beauty that’s also mirrored in Darkhan’s tour through family photos.
Poetic, visually stunning, and emotionally touching, Joqtau presents viewers with the universal experience of grief at the death of a loved one. It reminds us that the presence of a person persists, despite distance and even death.
Joqtau is writer and director Aruan Anartay’s feature film debut. His background in documentary film adds a level of realism that’s mesmerizing and contemplative, while the intimate style of his writing makes the film resonate on a deeply personal level.
—Heather Marie Bartels
- Director: Aruan Anartay
- Principal Cast: Yermek Shynbolatov, Isbek Abilmazhinov, Irina Balkova
- Premiere Status: North American
- Country: Kazakhstan, China
- Year: 2024
- Running Time: 71 min.
- Producer: Aruzhan Dossymkozha, Alexandra Sytnik, Aruan Anartay
- Screenplay: Aruan Anartay
- Cinematographers: Aigul Nurbulatova
- Editors: Aidan Serik
- Music: Sanzhar Baiterekov
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Locarno Film Festival 2024 (ISPEC Cinema Award), Eurasia International Film Festival 2024 (Best Director of Central Asia)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Kazakh, Russian
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- Format: DCP
- International Sales: Parallax Films