Outfest Fusion 2020 - Welcome to the USA
Aliya, a 36-year-old Kazakh lesbian woman, for the first time in her life tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Assel Aushakimova
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This is my first feature film. And it coincided with the age when many people have a midlife crisis and a reassessment of values. In the film, I intended to reflect my thoughts about emigration from Kazakhstan and the reasons for this process. This is a mass process that the Kazakh authorities prefer not to notice. Any sane person in Kazakhstan, including myself, sometimes thinks about emigration. And it was very important for me to finally make a film in Kazakhstan (patriarchal and homophobic) with a female heroine who is also a lesbian.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This is not a traditional ethnographic film from Kazakhstan about the hard life in the village. This is a film about an independent and liberal-minded woman in a patriarchal and homophobic post-Soviet country.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Initially, it was a script about loneliness and alienation. Work on the script was carried out throughout the year. And already in the second draft, the themes of emigration and self-identification were added.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far we have shown the film only in the USA (Los Angeles (AFI Fest, Outfest Fusion). And we are very glad that the audience very warmly accepts the film and understands what we wanted to show.
Only a few people watched it in Kazakhstan, and they said that this is quite an important film at the current time.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I was very surprised and upset with only one feedback. For some reason, one spectator decided that this film is nostalgic for the USSR. But I am an ardent opponent and critic of the USSR, although I was born in the USSR. The theme of the USSR is raised in the film as a question of what has changed in the country since the collapse of the USSR.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We wanted more people to know about the existence of the film and would like to watch it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Sales agents, buyers, film festival directors, journalists, producers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
To increase civic engagement and consciousness in Kazakhstan, to reduce the level of homophobia in the country. More atypical female characters appear in films.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is it possible not to share the values and views of the majority of the population of your homeland? and then what to do?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I recently finished the post-production of my third short film. I am currently working on my second feature film project.
Interview: March 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Welcome to the USA
Aliya, a 36-year-old Kazakh lesbian woman, for the first time in her life tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay.
Length: 1:34:31
Director: Assel Aushakimova
Producer: Assel Aushakimova
Writer: Assel Aushakimova
About the writer, director and producer:
ASSEL AUSHAKIMOVA is a Kazakhstani director, screenwriter and producer. Assel graduated from film school in Almaty. She directed, wrote and produced two short films that participated in POFF Shorts, Africa international film festival, Cannes short film corner and other festivals. Welcome to the USA is her first feature film, the world premiere of which was at AFI FEST 2019. She is currently working on her second feature film project.
Key cast: Saltanat Nauruz (Aliya)
Looking for: sales agents, distributors, buyers, film festival directors
Facebook: Assel Aushakimova
Hashtags used: #WelcomeToTheUSA
Other: IMDb