Directed by: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Runtime: 93 minutes
Country: Kazakhstan
Language: Kazakh, Russian with English subtitles
Rating: PG

This playful tragicomedy from festival favourite Yerzhanov, satirises small-town corruption within the framework of folkloric fable. Financial trouble forces three siblings―ex-con John, wannabe Erbol, epileptic Aliya―to move from their big-city house into a remote cottage inherited from their recently deceased mother. However, their decrepit ancestral home is occupied by Zhuba, the District Officer’s alcoholic brother, who having lived there for a decade, refuses to leave, and bullies them in protest. When John seeks legal help, the police turn out to be just some guys dressed in blue, the courts a file cabinet and a man who says, “We’ll contact you in two months.” As homelessness looms and “routine” injustice turns into startling cruelty, the visually rich set-pieces of this Kafkaesque nightmare build with increasing absurdity, climaxing in a village dance number.

Awards

GOLD PLAQUE – SPECIAL MENTION FOR ORIGINALITY
Chicago International Film Festival 2014

FREE SPIRIT AWARD
Warsaw International Film Festival 2014

AMPHORE DES ÉTUDIANTS (Audience Award of the École nationale supérieure d’audiovisuel)
Festival International du Film Grolandais de Toulouse 2014

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The Owners will be available for rent via Vimeo On Demand at USD$3.50 from 19 June to 16 July 2020. Please click on the “Book Now” button which will redirect you to Vimeo. Upon purchase, the film will be available to you for 48 hours. 

Due to the closure of cinemas following the COVID-19 pandemic, Whose House Is This? : New Cinema of Central Asia is the first programme from the Asian Film Archive that will be presented entirely online, as part of the newly-launched series “Rewired”. 

* The programme line-up is correct at the time of publishing. Any changes will be updated and reflected.
* All prices are in US Dollars.
* Films are region-restricted and limited to Singapore and/or Southeast Asia depending on the film.