The Secret of a Leader(HKAFF2024)

Director Farkhat Sharipov offers a scalding criticism of modern Kazakhstan with this honest and penetrating social drama. Beneath the film’s cold surface lies an angry indictment of a post- Soviet society gripped by a uniquely Kazakh brand of unchecked capitalism. Initially inspired by a popular self-help book, the film follows Kanat, a single 40-year-old man who is frustrated by his dead-end mid-level bank job, as well as living at home with his Alzheimer’s-suffering mother. When he meets old college friend Daniyar, Kanat is seduced into a glamorous world of luxury and sex. However, Kanat’s newfound success comes at a price: his moral conscience.

Best Film, Moscow International Film Festival
Grand Prix, Eurasia International Film Festival
Hamburg Film Festival