We invite you to join a series of meetings with director Igor Gonopolsky, Non-Fiction Cinema: Myth or Reality?

The series consists of eight meetings, each lasting two hours. Every session includes a screening of one or several of Igor Gonopolsky’s non-fiction films, followed by a discussion with the director. It is an opportunity to watch the films together with their author and hear first-hand how the filming process unfolded, how communication with the protagonists was built, and why this particular way of looking at a person became central to the director’s work.

At the centre of the series are films about significant figures in the history of Kazakhstan. Many of the protagonists of these works are no longer alive, yet memory continues to live on through cinema. For Igor Gonopolsky, the very idea of non-fiction cinema is fundamental. In his view, the word “document” is too closely tied to fact, while cinema also works with memory, intonation, presence, and above all with image. His films bring back to life destinies, voices, and faces that should not disappear with time.

This series offers a chance to look anew at well-known people who played an important role in the culture and history of Kazakhstan, and together with the director to discuss how non-fiction cinema differs from fiction film, how the image of a person emerges within it, and why the author’s perspective matters so much here. As Igor Gonopolsky himself says, the artistic is a mark of quality, not a genre.

Igor Marksovich Gonopolsky is a Kazakhstani theatre, film, and television director, Honoured Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan, member of the Union of Cinematographers of the Kazakh SSR, academician of the Eurasian Academy of Cinema and Television, and associate professor at Turan Film Academy. His films have been presented at international and regional film festivals in Munich, Berlin, San Sebastián, Singapore, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Almaty, Yekaterinburg, and other cities.

Programme

‍May 9, Saturday, 6:00 pm

First meeting. Eisenstein in Alma-Ata

The second meeting will feature all three parts of Eisenstein in Alma-Ata.

May 16, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Second meeting. Line of Fate and I Never Lied to People…

At the first meeting, participants will watch Line of Fate, in which Igor Gonopolsky turns to his own story, as well as I Never Lied to People…, a film about Olzhas Suleimenov.

May 23, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Third meeting. Gulfairus Ismailova and Yevgeny Sidorkin

This meeting will present films dedicated to the artists Gulfairus Ismailova and Yevgeny Sidorkin.

May 30, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Fourth meeting. Portrait of a Legend

The fourth meeting will centre on Portrait of a Legend, a film about Bibigul Tulegenova.

June 6, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Fifth meeting. Melodies of Life

At the fifth meeting, participants will watch Melodies of Life, dedicated to Azerbaijan Mambetov and Gaziza Zhubanova.

June 13, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Sixth meeting. Pavel Zaltsman

The sixth meeting will be devoted to the artist Pavel Zaltsman.

June 20, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Seventh meeting. Shal. A Film About a Film and The Last Prince of the Steppe

The seventh meeting will feature Shal. A Film About a Film and The Last Prince of the Steppe, about Chokan Valikhanov.

June 27, Saturday, 6:00 pm

Eighth meeting. Line of Fate

The final meeting of the series will be devoted to Line of Fate, a film about Yuri Pomerantsev.

The price of one meeting is 3500 KZT. All meetings will take place at 59 Masanchi Street, Almaty, Tselinny, Atelier educational space on the second floor of the center.