Investors do not intend to stop financing expensive Kazakh films after the highest-budget domestic picture, "7 Qaraqshy," failed to turn a profit at the box office. This was stated by the head of the venture fund Tolqyn Film Fund, former chess player Darmen Sadvakasov, according to infohub.kz.
Tolqyn Film Fund invested 720 million tenge in director Kuanysh Beisek's film. The movie, dedicated to an alternative history of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, grossed 730 million tenge over three weekends — and that amount does not yet include payments to distributors and cinemas. So, roughly speaking, the film "broke even," without bringing profit to its creators. In his Instagram, Beisek wrote that after such an experience, Kazakhstan will not produce expensive experimental films for the next two to three years.
The director's opinion was refuted on social media by the film's investor, the head of Tolqyn Film Fund.
"We at Dasco Capital and our fund Tolqyn Film Fund want to assure that we will continue to make investment decisions that give the most talented Kazakh filmmakers the opportunity to realize bold ideas and create world-class films," Sadvakasov noted.
According to him, venture investments involve risk, and the company was prepared for it while fulfilling its mission: to bring Kazakh cinema to international markets. However, the businessman is confident it is too early to draw pessimistic conclusions.
"The fund is focused on making a profit. Already from Kazakh box office alone, '7 Qaraqshy' will come close to breaking even. Ahead is work with streaming platforms and international sales, where the film has great potential, so it is too early to draw final conclusions," the investor believes.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote about what the plot of "7 Qaraqshy" is dedicated to and what references to Kazakh culture and history are in the film.