Culture

FOR SPT ‘Jahangir, The Great Game’ brings together Kazakh and Russian film producers to tell a story of cultural exchange.

A joint Kazakh-Russian cultural project — a monumentally scaled historical film that revolves around the figures of Russian Tsar Nicholas I and a Kazakh khan, Jahangir, around the time of the 1825 Decembrists’ revolt — is facing obstacles getting funding from Russian cultural authorities, while filming in Russia is due to begin in late fall of this year.

While the Russian authorities could be seen as being likely to feel awkward about giving money to a film that features scenes of people taking to the streets to protest against their rulers, the project, titled “Jahangir, The Great Game,” has not encountered any direct criticism.

“No, it is the opposite: Everyone listens to the crew very attentively, nods their heads approvingly and agrees that cross-cultural dialogue, especially that focusing on East and West, is a subject that definitely deserves attention,” said Roza Orynbasarova, the film’s director. “But after that, we get nothing. No support.”

While the government of the Astrakhan Oblast, where some of the film’s scenes are going to be shot, has helped the project financially, St. Petersburg has been a tough nut to crack in terms of fundraising. The crew has not been able to secure any funding as of yet, which has put the project at risk. This is because St. Petersburg is the site of some of the most important filming locations, and the project still requires more than $2 million in funding. With such a significant shortfall, Orynbasarova and her team have decided to go public and tell the story of the film, its cultural significance and the financial obstacles that they are facing.

The idea for the film, whose total budget is estimated to be $8 million, emerged two and a half years ago, when prominent Kazakh poet, writer and politician Olzhas Suleimenov came up with a screenplay that focused on the young Jahangir’s first visit to St. Petersburg and the consequences that his exposure to the Russian culture of the time had on the development of the Kazakh state.

“Suleimenov created a parable that is deeply psychological and revolves around the strong personality of its heroes,” Orynbasarova said. “Jahangir’s arrival in St. Petersburg in 1825 was dramatic and very meaningful. He becomes a witness to the tragic events on Decembrists’ Square, and he sees the Great Game in full swing.”

The term Great Game refers to the battle between the British Empire and Russian Empire over spheres of influence in Central Asia, where Russia sought dominance over Kazakhstan and its neighboring states.

As Suleimenov points out, the film is intended to demonstrate mutual influence and interpenetration between Eastern and Western cultures. “As our starting point, we chose a scene that features the encounter between Tsar Nicholas I and Jahangir at a decisive moment in the history of Russia, the Decembrists’ revolt,” Suleimenov said. “Indeed, today, Senate Square, where these events took place, can be thought of as a very particular historical symbol. These events can certainly be directly associated with some of the protest meetings of the present day.”

Jahangir is both one of the most admired and controversial leaders of the Kazakh state. A reformer, he was instrumental in turning what were essentially nomads into a nation of householders.

“Jahangir had too little time to conceive his reforms and faced too much resistance,” Orynbasarova said. “He justified himself by referring to the actions of Russia’s Peter the Great. He was a dreamer — a very proud man and a very educated man — who posed a real threat to Russia without realizing it. He was also a politician who was easily angered by confrontation, annoyed at the sound of a military campaign, and who could not see the point of a revolt. Most importantly, Jahangir helped the Kazakh nation to wake up and start thinking seriously about its future and about its defense. This ruler taught the nation to think critically about its future.”

FOR SPT Despite the lack of funding, scouting for locations in the city continues.

Casting is still in progress for many roles in the film, and auditions are being held far beyond Russia and Kazakhstan. Four languages are expected to feature in the film, including Russian, Kazakh, French and German, but even more will be heard. “We felt that because the environment was genuinely multi-ethnic, we needed the real sounds of the languages that were involved,” Orynbasarova said. “For example, Jahangir’s wife, Fatima, was Tatar, so she will speak her native language in the film. The Russian empress and the princess, both of German origin, will speak German — and we will be looking for German actresses to portray them.”

One international celebrity who did not require a long time to convince him to participate in the project is the Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician Emir Kusturica, who expressed enthusiasm about playing general Mikhail Miloradovich and composing some of the musical score for the project.

A hero of the Napoleonic wars, Miloradovich was appointed Governor General of St. Petersburg after the end of the military campaign. On December 14, 1825, he went down to the scene of the revolt in an effort to prevent bloodshed. The veteran, who had earned enormous respect in the army, appealed to those who had fought with him in the Napoleonic campaign, and he nearly changed the course of history. But his peacemaking initiative was never completed — the general was shot dead by Pyotr Kakhovsky, one of the more radical officers that took part in the revolt.

“When I spoke to Kusturica, he agreed almost immediately,” Orynbasarova remembers. “I did not have to go into many details about our project. He very quickly saw where we were coming from, and said that in his home country he has first-hand experience in dealing with the difficulties of setting up dialogue between East and West.”

As Orynbasarova stresses, “Jahangir, The Great Game” is a very complex project, and it is an atypical project as well, because it shows the most dramatic historical events from the viewpoint of a Kazakh writer.

However, in the director’s opinion, this angle makes the story even more valuable, as it encourages mutual understanding and allows for a fresh new perspective on some of the most important events in Russian history.

“Isolation always lead to disaster. All members of society are connected to one another and if you try to live your life ignoring everyone else, and what they think or feel, you will be doomed to live the life of a mole,” Suleimenov said.

Orynbasarova became the film’s director only this year. Originally, the job had been accepted by the legendary St. Petersburg filmmaker Alexei German, who died in February.

Many members of the local arts community welcomed the Kazakh initiative. “Historical films are an important part of cultural heritage,” said Alexander Pozdnyakov, a respected St. Petersburg film historian and critic. “Olzhas Suleimenov is a genuine Renaissance man, who has been building cultural bridges for many decades. The power of his talent cannot be constrained by borders, and he is capable of finding the ideas, the moments, the places that unite people, rather than divide them.”

Suleimenov and Orynbasarova have secured the support of Lenfilm, Russia’s oldest and perhaps most venerable film studio, which has a rich history of producing historical dramas as well as of cooperation with Central Asian countries.

“As the studio has just secured a major grant from the Russian government, it is looking forward to a revival. We are eagerly anticipating “Jahangir” because we would be honored to begin the studio’s revival with a project like this,” said Valery Karpov, press officer at Lenfilm.