a
b
c

ÄYEL

World Premiere
Available online: 23/03/2025
Play trailer
Director Valeriya Kim
Choreographer Madina Bekzhigitova
Kazakhstan 2024
3 minutes
Kazakh
A journey to the essence of the female spirit through music, movements and the ancient legend of the Tengrian goddess Umai.

Synopsis

After separating heaven and earth, Tengri, the all-embracing God of heaven in the traditional Turkic, Yeniseian, and Mongolian beliefs, divided himself into man and woman to procreate. He named the woman the goddess Umai and settled her atop Mount Sumeru in the sky, near a milk lake called Sutkol. Here begins the story of Umai – the ancestor and spirit of women – on the vast steppes of the nomadic lands.

This film is currently not available.

After separating heaven and earth, Tengri, the all-embracing God of heaven in the traditional Turkic, Yeniseian, and Mongolian beliefs, divided himself into man and woman to procreate. He named the woman the goddess Umai and settled her atop Mount Sumeru in the sky, near a milk lake called Sutkol. Here begins the story of Umai – the ancestor and spirit of women – on the vast steppes of the nomadic lands.

Full credits

Section
International Student Competition
Director
Valeriya Kim
Choreographer
Madina Bekzhigitova
Production countries
Kazakhstan
Production year
2024
Duration
3 minutes
Producer
Akmaral Saparova

You might also like:

I Wan'na Be Like You
Online
I Wan'na Be Like You New Dutch

Broersen & Lukacs, 2024, BE, FR, NL, 13 min

Lukács and Broersen examine the Western colonial perception of the jungle as an untouched wilderness or 'terra nullius.' The film reimagines botanical gardens in Brussels, Paris, London, and Amsterdam—places where the wilderness was once appropriated and transported to Europe. The iconic song I Wan'na Be Like You from Disney’s Jungle Book (1967) is reinterpreted by collaborators, most notably the Afro-Surinamese music group Black Harmony, offering a proud reimagining of their community’s history and future in the diaspora.

Sleepless Until I Die
Online
Sleepless Until I Die International Student Competition

Chorong Yang & Jiaqi Yu, 2024, US, 9 min

Three people tormented by relentless anxiety and prolonged sleeplessness, slowly lose their human forms. As their condition worsens, they evolve into monsters, doomed to an eternity without rest.

The Steppers visit South Africa
Online
The Steppers visit South Africa Online Specials and Short Docs

Hugh Durnford-Dionne, 2024, ZA, 10 min

The Montreal Steppers visit South Africa for a cultural and artistic exchange to learn from elders and youth, brilliant artists and knowledge keepers. Connecting to the roots of Gumboots, Pantsula and Stepping changed their lives and the work that they do. It fuelled a deeper commitment to sharing the history and honouring the art forms that paved the way for resistance, power and legacy. With this knowledge, they enter into spaces with a heightened appreciation and understanding that this dance form is indeed their “ancestral inheritance.”