Kazakh debut 'Mugalim' bows in New Directors at San Sebastián
Kazakh drama “Mugalim” (“Múğalim”) held its world premiere on Sept. 20 in the New Directors section of the San Sebastián Film Festival, Variety reported.
That slot matters. New Directors is the festival’s strand for emerging film-makers presenting early features.
The film was co-written and directed by Ayana Nurdinova and produced by Art East Films, according to the same report. It is listed by the festival at 95 minutes, San Sebastián Festival notes.
The cast is led by Oljas Dalelkhan, Rustem Zhanyamanov, Shynar Zhanisbekova, Olga Landina, Akif Petrov and Madina Yesman. No stand-ins here. It is an ensemble built around a small-town story.
“Mugalim” follows Zhandos, a music teacher from Balkhash who dreams of leaving for the big city to play in the philharmonic. Balkhash is a lakeside industrial town in central Kazakhstan. The big city means a shot at a professional stage.
For Nurdinova, it is a debut. The Almaty-born film-maker, born in 1995, brings her first feature to Spain, the festival’s director notes record San Sebastián Festival.
The premiere came early in the 74th edition, which runs from Sept. 18 to Sept. 26, 2026. This year’s New Directors line-up holds 14 films in total, Screen Daily reported.
What makes this stand out is the route to the screen. A first film from Kazakhstan, carried by a local production company, now meets buyers, programmers and audiences far from home.
