About the author

Film director, playwright, writer, publicist. Distinguished Figure of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The most awarded director in the country today. Officially recognized by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) as one of the five best directors in Asia, with over 70 countries participating in the selection.

Ermek was the only one from Kazakhstan who was nominated for an Oscar three times and made it to the shortlist of the American Academy. He was nominated for the Asian Oscar twice (Australia, Brisbane). Foreign experts consider him a brand of the modern Asian film industry.

With more than twenty international awards and prizes to his name, Ermek has been recognized at film festivals throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East — including in Italy, Greece, France, Monaco, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, and many others.

A two-time recipient of Kazakhstan’s National Film Award, Kulager, Ermek has also earned multiple nominations and wins at major film festivals across the CIS, including Kinoshock (Sochi), Dark Nights (Tallinn), Vmeste (Yalta), Nika (Moscow), and others.

Vmeste Grand Prix Film Festival, Yalta – “Best Film”, “Best Director”. Monaco Charity Film Festival – “Grand Prix”. The film was screened at film festivals in Tokyo (Japan), Shanghai (China), Toronto (Canada), Taormina (Italy), Reykjavik (Iceland), Haifa (Israel), Busan (Korea), Bursa (Turkey), Palm Springs (USA), Copenhagen (Denmark), Freistadt (Austria), Ankara (Turkey), etc.

Ermek’s film Shal (The Old Man) was named “Film of the Year” at the XIII Choice of the Year Festival. It was also selected for the main competition programs at prestigious film festivals in Beijing, Cologne, Vancouver, Vienna, Moscow, Warsaw, Oslo, Helsinki, and others. Ermek is a frequent winner of online public voting in categories, such as: “Choice of the Year,” “Name of the Motherland,” and “Cinema Authority”.

He is recognized as both a writer and a translator, known for his translations of classic works from Kazakh literature. His translated works include those by renowned authors such as Magzhan Zhumabayev, Shakarim, Akhmet Baitursynov, Zhusupbek Aimautov, Merzhakyp Dulatov, and others. He has also translated works by contemporary Kazakh writers, including Sain Muratbekov, Seidakhmet Berdikulov, Mukhtar Shakhanov, Bakkozhye Mukai, Akim Tarazi, Ulykbek Esdauletov, and many more.

"The key is not to rush — that way, everything happens faster."

Ermek Tursunov

Here is what the country's leading art critics wrote about Tursunov:

“Ermek Tursunov is one of those individuals that young people should look up to — and perhaps, the only one.”

“In every field of culture, there is a leader whom everyone follows — not in terms of organization, but in creativity. In the 1960s, that leader for the nation was Olzhas Suleimenov. For a long time, no such leader emerged in Kazakhstani cinema. However, after the release of Shal, it became clear that Ermek Tursunov was that leader. His film was made about the people and for the people.”

“This director will go down in the history of world cinema as the first to craft a vivid, multifaceted, and mythologically accurate portrayal of the Tengrian Universe — one that is psychologically profound, deeply felt by a 21st-century individual, and richly poetic.”

This is what leading professional Western publications said about Tursunov:

“Kazakh director Ermek Tursunov first thrilled Festival audiences in 2009 with his groundbreaking debut feature, Kelin. In his new pastoral epic, he charts the turbulent history of Kazakhstan in the early twentieth century, telling the story of a nation fighting to retain its humanity. In Stranger, Tursunov has crafted a magnificent work of classical cinema with a rich narrative that has roots both in Kazakh folklore and in the nation's more recent history”.

“Tursunov’s previous feature Old Man (Shal) was selected as Kazakhstan’s official submission for the Oscars in 2012 and his nomadic drama Kelin was shortlisted in 2010 - the closest a Kazakh film has еver made it winning an Academy Award.” (By Michael Rosser) “Variety”.

“When you're watching a picture and it occasionally reminds you of Sydney Pollack'sJeremiah Johnson, Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala, Serhiy Paradjanov's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors AND does so with its own unique stylistic and narrative approach, then you know you're watching something very special indeed.”

Ermek Tursunov’s Nominations & Awards:

Tursunov’s Kelin was honored with two prestigious awards at the 2009 Kulager National Film Awards: “Best Feature Film of the Year” and “Best Director of the Year”. At the Vmeste Grand Prix Film Festival in Yalta, the film won “Best Film” and “Best Director”, and took home the “Grand Prix” at the Monaco Charity Film Festival. The film was showcased at major international festivals, including Toronto (Canada), Taormina (Italy), Reykjavik (Iceland), Haifa (Israel), Busan (South Korea), Bursa (Turkey), Palm Springs (USA), Copenhagen (Denmark), Freistadt (Austria), Ankara (Turkey), and more. At the XIII Choice of the Year Festival, Shal was named “Film of the Year” and competed in the main competitions at prestigious festivals in Beijing, Cologne, Vancouver, Vienna, Moscow, Warsaw, Oslo, Helsinki, and others.

“Best Screenplay” Award for Kurak Korpe at the Kinoshock Film Festival (Russia) in 2007.

Winner of the Kulager National Prize (Kazakhstan) for “Best Film of the Year” for Shal (2012).

“Grand Prix” at the Kinoshock Film Festival (Sochi) for Shal (2013) and “Best Actor” Award (E. Toguzakov).

“Best Film” of the CIS and Baltic States at the Nika Awards for Shal (2014).

Shal, from Kazakhstan, was nominated for an Oscar Award in 2013.

Zhat, from Kazakhstan, was nominated for an Oscar Award in 2015.

Shyrakshy had its world premiere in Shanghai, becoming the first Kazakh film ever screened at the festival. It received the “Best Camera Work” (Martin Sechanov) at the Kinoshock Film Festival and a “Special Jury Prize” awarded to actor M. Mukazhanov “for creating a poetic portrayal of a devoted servant of cinema.” The film also won the “Grand Prix” at the International Film Festival in Sochi and was featured at international festivals in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and others.

Two-times nominee for the ‘Asian Oscar’ (Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Australia, Brisbane) in the “Directing Achievement” Award category for Zhat.

The film Zhat received the NETPAC Award at the 19th Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn.

Filmography:

Kelin
(2008)

Shal
(2012)

Kempir
(2014)

Kenzhe
(2015)

Zhat
(2015)

Shyrakshy
(2019)

Besmoinak
(2022)

Films based on scripts by Ermek Tursunov:

Abulkhair Khandirector Viktor Pusurmanov(1993) — Abulkhair Khan
director Viktor Pusurmanov
(1993)

Kurak Korpedirector Rustem Abdrashev(2007) — Kurak Korpe
director Rustem Abdrashev
(2007)

The Ultimate Fighterdirector Erken Ialgashev(2007) — The Ultimate Fighter
director Erken Ialgashev
(2007)

Mustafa Shokaydirector Satybaldy Narymbetov(2008) — Mustafa Shokay
director Satybaldy Narymbetov
(2008)

Gift to Stalindirector Rustem Abdrashev (with the participation of Ermek Tursunov)(2008) — Gift to Stalin
director Rustem Abdrashev (with the participation of Ermek Tursunov)
(2008)

Bucksytogether with Sergei Bodrov and Gulshad Omarova(2008) — Bucksy
together with Sergei Bodrov and Gulshad Omarova
(2008)

Who are you, Mr. Ka? (The Flower Boy)director Khuat Akhmetov(2009) — Who are you, Mr. Ka? (The Flower Boy)
director Khuat Akhmetov
(2009)

Kashdirector Aisultan Seitov (with the participation of Ermek Tursunov)(2022) — Kash
director Aisultan Seitov (with the participation of Ermek Tursunov)
(2022)

Ermek Tursunov's books:

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About the author

Film director, playwright, writer, publicist. Distinguished Figure of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Here is what the country's leading art critics wrote about Tursunov:

This is what leading professional Western publications said about Tursunov:

Ermek Tursunov’s Nominations & Awards: