Will life imitate art? Steppe queen film makes Kazakhs wonder

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Steppe queen

Producer of movie is Nazarbayev’s youngest daughter

ALMATY, July 22, (RTRS): An ageing central Asian leader grooms his daughter to succeed him, and she then overcomes suspicion from her patriarchal society to unite her people.

It could describe the future trajectory of Dariga Nazarbayeva, the 56-year-old daughter of Kazakhstan’s former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who many people believe will eventually become president of the oil-producing nation.

In fact, it’s the plot of a film about Tomyris, an ancient central Asian warrior queen, which is being prepared for release in Kazakhstan and whose producer and co-writer is Dariga Nazarbayeva’s younger sister, Aliya.

The film’s tagline, according to advance publicity material, is: “A queen born to make the steppe great”.

The filmmakers declined to answer questions from Reuters, but according to Kazakh political analyst Dosym Satpayev, the parallels between the hero of the movie and Dariga may be more than just a coincidence.

“One cannot rule out the idea that Tomyris serves several goals: to play a political role… on the one hand, and on the other to help the (first) president’s youngest daughter fulfill her movie industry ambitions,” said Satpayev.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, a 79-year-old former Communist Party apparatchik, resigned as Kazakh president in March after three decades in power. He backed Senate speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to replace him, and Tokayev won a June 9 presidential election.

Pass

But some political observers believe Tokayev is a place-holder and that the succession will eventually pass to a member of the Nazarbayev family.

When her father stepped down, Dariga was appointed the new speaker of the Senate, making her the no. 2 figure in the political hierarchy of Kazakhstan, an ex-Soviet republic of 18 million people which won its independence from Moscow in 1991.

Still, the idea of a female ruler could be a hard sell in a country where many still believe a woman’s role is in the home.

This is why the upcoming movie has caught the eye of some observers who think it might make Nazarbayeva’s potential presidential bid more acceptable among ordinary Kazakhs.

Directed by Akan Satayev, who has previously worked on a flattering biopic of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the movie is entitled “Tomyris” and is based on the story of the ancient queen.

She was ruler of the Massageteans, a confederation of Iranian-speaking nomadic tribes who were related to Scythians and inhabited Central Asia for several centuries.

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus described their victory over the invading Persian army in the sixth century BC, and how Tomyris dipped the head of King Cyrus the Great, killed in battle, in a vessel of blood.

Little else is known about Tomyris, but the void has been filled by fiction.

Kazakh writer Bulat Zhandarbekov published a novel of the same name in 1993 and it became an instant hit as the newly-independent nation was looking for a fresh identity.

Director Satayev declined an interview request from Reuters, but four people involved in its production confirmed that the script was loosely based on the book.

Also:

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he wants a “filter” on the country’s audiovisual production, possibly limiting public funding to projects his administration deems fit.

Bolsonaro said Friday that without some sort of filter, he will consider shutting down the government-run National Cinema Agency. The agency oversees regulation and financing for Brazil’s film and audiovisual industry.

The president commented a day after signing a decree moving another agency that determines governments policy on movies from the citizenship and culture ministry to his chief of staff’s office.

Critics say the move will increase government oversight on the body.

Bolsonaro has said that Brazil should no longer use public funds for films that “disrespect families.”

The president is a devout Christian and ran a right-wing campaign on a socially conservative agenda.

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