Tomiris (film)

Tomiris is a 2019 Kazakhstani feature film directed by Akan Sataev, which tells the story about the queen of the Massagetae Tomyris and the king of Persia Cyrus the Great. The premiere of the film took place in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on September 25, 2019.[1]

Tomiris
Film poster
Directed byAkan Sataev
Produced by
  • Alina Nazarbayeva
  • Svetlana Nam
  • Erkebulan Dayirov
Starring
  • Almira Tursyn
  • Adil Akhmetov
  • Aizhan LighG
  • Erkebulan Dayirov
Production
company
Kazakhfilm
Sataifilm
Running time
195 minutes
CountryKazakhstan
LanguageKazakh
Budget6.5 million USD

Plot

The film is based on the story of Herodotus about the death of the Persian King Cyrus the Great during the war with Massagetae, which was commanded by the queen Tomiris.

Cast
  • Almira Tursyn - Tomiris
  • Aizhan LighG - Sardana
  • Gassan Massoud - Cyrus
  • Berik Aitzhanov - Kurtun
  • Adil Akhmetov - Argun
  • Erkebulan Dayirov - Kharasp
  • Azamat Satibaldi - Kavaz

Almira Tursyn, a psychologist, was chosen from 15 thousand people to play the role of Tomyris. She took professional lessons of horseriding, archery and also learned to use swords and knives.[2]

Production

The film was ordered by the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The idea of a film about Queen Tomiris was come up by Aliya Nazarbayeva.[3] Filming began in December 2017 and scenes were shot in different parts of Kazakhstan. The Massagetae heroes speak the ancient Turkic language, while the Persian heroes speak new Persian in the film, despite the fact that modern historians consider the Massagetae to have been a nomadic Iranian people.[4][5]

Release

The film was theatrically released in Kazakhstan on October 1, 2019. The distribution rights of the film were sold to Blue Swan for Italy, SND Films for France, Art Mood for Spain, AT Entertainment for Japan, Gulf Film for Middle East, Challan for South Korea, Paradise/MGN for CIS, Shaw for Singapore, Program 4 Media for Romania, Siyah Bayez Movies for Turkey, and Well Go USA for the United States.[6]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews. This is probably because Herodotus's version of events is not generally accepted by historians and researchers, and unlike in the film, Massagetae are not considered Turkic, but Iranian-speaking people. Criticism came from both the Kazakh and Iranian public.[7]

Some observers believed that the film was aimed to make Dariga Nazarbayeva's potential presidential bid in the future, the daughter of Kazakhstan's former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, more acceptable among ordinary Kazakhs.[8]

The film won the Nouveau Genre Great Prize at France's 2020 L'Étrange Festival.[9]

References
  1. "Фильмы | AO «Казахфильм» им. Шакена Айманова". www.kazakhfilmstudios.kz.
  2. ""TOMRİS" İzleyiciyle Buluşmaya Hazırlanıyor". Türktoyu - Türk Dünyasını Keşfet.
  3. "Kazakhfilm, Sataifilm to start work on historical film about Tomiris". Kazinform. 10 April 2017.
  4. Karasulas, Antony. Mounted Archers Of The Steppe 600 BC-AD 1300 (Elite). Osprey Publishing, 2004, ISBN 184176809X, p. 7.
  5. Wilcox, Peter. Rome's Enemies: Parthians and Sassanids. Osprey Publishing, 1986, ISBN 0-85045-688-6, p. 9.
  6. Barraclough, Leo (25 June 2020). "Epic Action-Adventure 'Tomiris,' About Kazak Warrior Queen, Sells to Key Territories". Variety.
  7. Адилбеков, Данияр (29 September 2019). ""Это феминистический фильм". Что кинокритики думают о картине Акана Сатаева "Томирис"?". informburo.kz.
  8. Auyezov, Olzhas. "Will life imitate art? Steppe queen movie makes Kazakhs wonder". Reuters.
  9. "Kazakh Film "Tomiris" Wins Nouveau Genre Prize at L'Étrange Festival in France". Astana Times. 16 September 2020.
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