Interviews

Interview: Adilkhan Yerzhanov – The Gentle Indifference of the World

Published on June 28, 2018

His sixth feature film in almost as many years, and second trip to the Croisette following in the footsteps of The Owners (2014), Kazakh helmer Adilkhan Yerzhanov once again criticizes the abuse of power and bureaucratic corruption in the post-Soviet East era. The Gentle Indifference of the World (read review) follows two young penniless villagers lovers, Saltanat and Kuandyk, who are obliged to leave their rural life for the big city for the sake of saving Saltanat’s mother from imprisonment.

With the use of fixed-angle long takes, striking use of natural landscape, creative sound effects and laconic poker-faced acting style certainly echoes the filmmaker’s previous works. Presented in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, I had the chance to sit with Yerzhanov (in this English and Kazakh interview) to find out what inspired the film, his reflections on love, the work method he employs with his actor set, the role that landscapes in his cinema and how it helps create his cinematic language.

Amir Ganjavie

Amir Ganjavie, a Ph.D. in communication and culture, is a Toronto-based writer, cultural citric, festival director, community activist and filmmaker. Fascinated by the issue of alternative and utopian space in modern urban settings and cinema, Amir has published several articles on utopia and two books, one on utopia (Le rÃ´le de la pensÃ©e utopique dans lâamÃ©nagement des villes de demain) and the other on walkable neighbourhoods (Pour une ville qui marche). He has recently co-edited two special volumes on Iranian cinema for film International and Asian Cinema and edited a Humanities of the Other: An essay collection on the Dardanne Brothers (in Persian). Aside from academia, he writes for MovieMaker, Filmint, Mubi, Senses of Cinema, Offscreen and Brightlight. Amir is very active in the community. He serves as the CEO of CineIran Festival and Phoenix Cultural Centre of Toronto. He is also the founding member of NaMaNa Cinema. He has recently directed/produced a long feature film in Canada, named Pendulum. His top 2 theatrical release for 2017: IldikÃ³ Enyedi's On Body and Soul and Michel Hazanavicius's Redoubtable.