An interview with Diana Ashimova, the producer of "The Land Where Winds Stood Still", interviewer Nikolaj Nikitin
"Zhanar Shokpanova’s first film tells the heartbreaking story of a mother’s might amidst the terrible circumstances of 1930s Kazakhstan.
Ruthless Jupar with her two boys Jolan and Boshay are on the run to reach her childhood village with hopes of finding living relatives. Yet there is no safe place left for them, nor anyone. A mother with no tears left to cry endures rains, sandstorms, feverish famine, poisoned crops, hungry vultures, rotten meat, and greedy betrayals. Jupar will have to steal, cutthroat, and protect her and others’ children to witness fates worse than death.
The theme of the film is a heavy one, which isn't used to be portrayed or discussed in popular media almost at all, but the story is one known by everyone in Kazakhstan and has been taken on by multiple filmmakers recently. ""This topic was somehow forbidden because it was very painful to remind these dark times in history.""
The team wanted to choose an older director for this production because they felt that they would have a closer connection to the events and could therefore relate more as well. Shokpanova’s historical saga has achieved this true-to-life emotion, as it is full of tension and toys skillfully with the viewers’ sense of hope and humanity. Ashimova, the producer of the film explains that the stylistic choice of keeping the film black and white was also a way to increase the tension and morbidness of the plot.
PÖFF TV is brought to you by Elisa Eesti, Co-funded by the European Union and the Ruum:um studio.
"
