Ardak AMIRKULOV Ардак АМИРКУЛОВ Ardak AMIRKOULOV Sapar KOYCHUMANOV Сапар КОЙЧУМАНОВ Sapar KOITCHOUMANOV   USSR (Kazakhstan), 1991, 174 mn  Colour, fiction

The Fall of Otrar ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Гибель Отрара    La Chute d'Otrar  Gibel Otrara

Plot synopsis

"Ardak Amirkulov's 1990 historical epic about the intrigue and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan's systematic destruction of the lost east Asian civilization of Otrar is unlike anything you've ever seen."
Kent Jones, www.seagullfilms.com

Commentaries and bibliography

The ancient city of Otrar was once the center of the nomadic civilization in Asia. Its destruction was decided by Genghis Kahn. Kiptchak Ounjou, both a witness and a participant, tells the dramatic story of the people crushed by the Mongols because they were divided by hatred and plots. The quite well organized Mongols manage to defeat the Muslims torn by all kinds of rivalries. “In 1987, Kazakhfilm decides to entrust the shooting of this historical complex film The Fall of Otrar to the director who was still a student of cinema. For a long time the young director had been attracted by the national history, but he needed a great courage to tackle such a project. He went into deep studies of historical texts related to Genghis Kahn’s invasion and read countless books about the events of the 13th century in order to find a cinematic form for this episode of the natio nal his story.”
T. Smailova, Festival International du Cinéma Asiatique

Selected in the following festivals :

- Vesoul International Asiatic Film Festival, Vesoul (France), 2012

- Festival "All our German", Moscow (Russia), 2010

- International debut film festival, Khanty Mansiysk (Russia), 2008

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