Aktan Arym Kubat

Directing

Aktan Arym Kubat

Born 1957-03-26 · Sakoulou, Kountouou, Kyrgyzstan

Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyz: Актан Арым Кубат; born March 26, 1957, Sokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan), also known as Aktan Abdykalykov, is a Kyrgyzstani director, screenwriter and actor. Member of the National Film Academy of the Kyrgyzstan, acting Member of the European Film Academy, acting Member of Asia Pacific Screen Academy. In 2016, Aktan Arym Kubat was recognized as one of the best directors in Asia, and Beshkempir/The Adopted Son entered the top 100 Asian films of all time, released by the Busan International Film Festival, which conducted a survey among 73 prominent film professionals, film critics, festival executives, programmers and directors. Best known for the films Beshkempir/The Adopted Son (1998), Maimyl/The Chimp (2001), The Light Thief (2010), Centaur (2017). Aktan Arym Kubat has received many industry awards, including Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the FIPRESCI Prizes from International Federation of Film Critics, he was a participant of Un Certain Regard and Lа Quinzaine des Realisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival, Panorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival and other festivals.

Acting credits

The Light Thief poster
5.1

The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.

The Light Thief

2011

This Is What I Remember poster
NR

An amnesiac old man Zarlyk who after twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land, returns to his homeland. Events take place in a village in Kyrgyzstan, where he is brought by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to consume... Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, went into religion, married the local authority Jaichy. The bright past invades the already accustomed Umsunai’s life. But nothing touches Zarlyk. An inexplicable passion for collecting garbage replaced him everything. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain lost happiness when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?

This Is What I Remember

2023

Centaur poster
6.5

Centaur lives a modest life with his family in rural Kyrgyzstan until he abruptly becomes the center of attention when he is caught stealing a racehorse at night. A story inspired by the myth when horses became the wings of men.

Centaur

2017

How a Boy Saved His City poster
NR

As his city faces the threat of being conquered by an evil lord, a brave boy decides to take matters in his own hands.

How a Boy Saved His City

2018

Luc Moullet (et Patricio Guzmán) à Manosque III poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Luc Moullet (et Patricio Guzmán) à Manosque III

2012

Behind the camera

The Light Thief poster
5.1

The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.

The Light Thief

2011

The Light Thief poster
5.1

The main hero of the film is an electrician with a far greater effect on the people around him than his job defines. He is the last link in a huge energetic system and he becomes the binding bridge between the geopolitical problems of post-soviet space and the common people. The economic devastation of the country had an enormous impact on the industrial workers and yet despite the upheaval, these people did not seize to love and suffer, to have and be friends and to enjoy their lives. In particular our resilient electrician, who possesses a wonderful and open heart. He not only brings electric light (which is often out) to the lives of the inhabitants of this small city, but he also spreads the light of love, loyalty, life and mainly laughter.

The Light Thief

2011

The Swing poster
5.0

The second film by Kyrgyzstani director Aktan Arym Kubat (then credited by his Russian name Aktan Abdykalykov), it is the first of his autobiographical Kurak ("Quilt") Trilogy, followed by Beshkempir (The Adopted Son, 1998) and The Chimp (2001). Идиллия детства, радости, игры разрушается с возвращением в маленькое горное село моряка. В прекрасный мир девушки, мальчика и юродивого врывается великолепная морская форма с клешами и бескозыркой, и волшебная морская ракушка - источник всех их будущих бед.

The Swing

1994

The Swing poster
5.0

The second film by Kyrgyzstani director Aktan Arym Kubat (then credited by his Russian name Aktan Abdykalykov), it is the first of his autobiographical Kurak ("Quilt") Trilogy, followed by Beshkempir (The Adopted Son, 1998) and The Chimp (2001). Идиллия детства, радости, игры разрушается с возвращением в маленькое горное село моряка. В прекрасный мир девушки, мальчика и юродивого врывается великолепная морская форма с клешами и бескозыркой, и волшебная морская ракушка - источник всех их будущих бед.

The Swing

1994

Kelin poster
6.0

A woman is led by her family to her new husband's home, to live with, presumably, his elderly mother and younger brother. Despite being forced into the marriage, she discovers that he is not such a bad catch after all but domestic bliss does not last long.

Kelin

2009

The Chimp poster
5.0

The Chimp is the nickname of a teenage boy (with large ears) who lives in the small town of Balyktchy, Kirghizstan, a former part of the USSR in central Asia. His family is being torn apart by his dad's alcoholism, his emotions are being torn as he sees his friends pair off into couples, and his job working on the railtracks is uninspiring.

The Chimp

2001

The Chimp poster
5.0

The Chimp is the nickname of a teenage boy (with large ears) who lives in the small town of Balyktchy, Kirghizstan, a former part of the USSR in central Asia. His family is being torn apart by his dad's alcoholism, his emotions are being torn as he sees his friends pair off into couples, and his job working on the railtracks is uninspiring.

The Chimp

2001

The Adopted Son poster
7.2

In a remote Kyrgyz village, Beshkempir, an infant foundling, is taken in by five older women and later adopted by a couple unable to bear children of their own. Fast forward to his early teenage years, a pubescent Beshkempir is faced with all the problems of crushing on girls and courtship, reconciling with friends and dealing with death in the family. Above all he questions his place in the world as an adoptee.

The Adopted Son

1999

The Adopted Son poster
7.2

In a remote Kyrgyz village, Beshkempir, an infant foundling, is taken in by five older women and later adopted by a couple unable to bear children of their own. Fast forward to his early teenage years, a pubescent Beshkempir is faced with all the problems of crushing on girls and courtship, reconciling with friends and dealing with death in the family. Above all he questions his place in the world as an adoptee.

The Adopted Son

1999

Bus Stop poster
9.0

A puzzling fable about human relations inspired by Samuel Beckett (in Kyrgyz, beket means station). At a bus stop amid a snowy winter landscape, people wait. A boy, an adult, and an old man are at first joined by a woman, and then a disruptive drunk.

Bus Stop

1995

Bus Stop poster
9.0

A puzzling fable about human relations inspired by Samuel Beckett (in Kyrgyz, beket means station). At a bus stop amid a snowy winter landscape, people wait. A boy, an adult, and an old man are at first joined by a woman, and then a disruptive drunk.

Bus Stop

1995

This Is What I Remember poster
NR

An amnesiac old man Zarlyk who after twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land, returns to his homeland. Events take place in a village in Kyrgyzstan, where he is brought by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to consume... Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, went into religion, married the local authority Jaichy. The bright past invades the already accustomed Umsunai’s life. But nothing touches Zarlyk. An inexplicable passion for collecting garbage replaced him everything. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain lost happiness when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?

This Is What I Remember

2023

This Is What I Remember poster
NR

An amnesiac old man Zarlyk who after twenty-three years of ordeal in a foreign land, returns to his homeland. Events take place in a village in Kyrgyzstan, where he is brought by his matured son Kubat. Much has changed during his absence: the morals of the villagers, mired in the realities of a changing world, radicalization of Islam, growing crime, and moral corrosive corruption began to consume... Zarlyk’s wife Umsunai, having lost hope of his return, went into religion, married the local authority Jaichy. The bright past invades the already accustomed Umsunai’s life. But nothing touches Zarlyk. An inexplicable passion for collecting garbage replaced him everything. Will the memory return to him and will Umsunai gain lost happiness when they are pressed by tight attitudes and immorality of the clergy, when love has eclipsed recklessness?

This Is What I Remember

2023

Black Red Yellow poster
5.0

The craft of carpet weaving in Kyrgyzstan boasts a long and legendary history, and is an integral part of local life. Turdugul, known as the most skilled carpet weaver in the valleys, spent years practising this craft in solitude. That was until Kadyr the horse herder entered her life, sparking a long-overdue romance that ultimately ended in a wordless farewell – leaving only an unfinished carpet behind. Years later, when the black, red and yellow patterned carpet was unfurled at his funeral, memories slowly unfolded in her heart like woven threads.

Black Red Yellow

2025

Black Red Yellow poster
5.0

The craft of carpet weaving in Kyrgyzstan boasts a long and legendary history, and is an integral part of local life. Turdugul, known as the most skilled carpet weaver in the valleys, spent years practising this craft in solitude. That was until Kadyr the horse herder entered her life, sparking a long-overdue romance that ultimately ended in a wordless farewell – leaving only an unfinished carpet behind. Years later, when the black, red and yellow patterned carpet was unfurled at his funeral, memories slowly unfolded in her heart like woven threads.

Black Red Yellow

2025

Centaur poster
6.5

Centaur lives a modest life with his family in rural Kyrgyzstan until he abruptly becomes the center of attention when he is caught stealing a racehorse at night. A story inspired by the myth when horses became the wings of men.

Centaur

2017

Centaur poster
6.5

Centaur lives a modest life with his family in rural Kyrgyzstan until he abruptly becomes the center of attention when he is caught stealing a racehorse at night. A story inspired by the myth when horses became the wings of men.

Centaur

2017

Hassan Hussen poster
10.0

Aktan Abdykalikov's simple, clear-eyed poetry finds an elemental form here. Two twin brothers are walking down the road carrying a pail of water, they fight and come to blows, and a bemused older man intervenes and sets them back on their way. It's that simple and it's that lovely. A graduate of the Art School of Kyrghyzstan, Aktan Abdykalyko (or Abdikalikov) first worked as a set designer for Kirgisfilm. After several well-received documentaries and short films, his first feature-length fiction film, Beshkempir, won several awards including the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival.

Hassan Hussen

1997

Heavenly Nomadic poster
6.2

A family of nomads lives in the remote high mountains of Kyrgyzstan...

Heavenly Nomadic

2015

The Skylark poster
NR

In this animated film inspired by Kyrgyz fairy-tales, a skylark helps people solve their problems.

The Skylark

1994

Where's Your Home, Snail? poster
6.5

A river reflects everything without carrying it away. But time — it takes everything away without reflecting anything... A story about teenagers in Kyrgyzstan.

Where's Your Home, Snail?

1992

Late Love poster
NR

In the center of the plot are three friends, three old men who swore in the name of the happiness of their friend Kaltay to marry him, no matter what. They do not suspect that soon they will have to get into the whirlpool of incredible, but fun adventures. Especially since love is the cause of everything.

Late Love

2010

The Dog Was Running poster
4.0

The fate of stray dogs of town, who wander around seeking their puppies. There are different types of dogs: those who win at contests, those working for police, circus dogs, those at dogfights. In contrast with the above privileged creatures, the future of strays is probably gloomy, sooner or later they end up under the wheels of a car or with the dogcatcher.

The Dog Was Running

1990

The Dog Was Running poster
4.0

The fate of stray dogs of town, who wander around seeking their puppies. There are different types of dogs: those who win at contests, those working for police, circus dogs, those at dogfights. In contrast with the above privileged creatures, the future of strays is probably gloomy, sooner or later they end up under the wheels of a car or with the dogcatcher.

The Dog Was Running

1990