Emir Baigazin (b. 1984, Almaty, Kazakhstan) is the directorial discovery of the year. He graduated in direction in 2009 from the Kazakh National Academy of Arts. While at school he shot several shorts that made the rounds of a variety of film festivals. Thanks to his short film Steppe (2007), he was invited to participate in a workshop at the Asian Film Academy in Busan, South Korea, where his teachers were Thai director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf. He also took part in the Berlinale’s Talent Campus. More recently he shot the short Fatshedder (2008), which screened at the 28th VGIK IFF in Moscow. His feature film debut Harmony Lessons caused quite a stir when presented in the main competition at this year’s Berlinale.
48. MFF Karlovy Vary
