Directed by Darezhan Omirbaev • 2001 • Kazakhstan

A metacinematic exploration of the anxieties, creativity, and delusion that drive the film director, The Road is one of the most personal films in the career of a Kazakh screen legend. Amir Kobessov (played by famous Tajik director Jamshed Usmonov) is a celebrated arthouse director. When he discovers that his mother is gravely ill, he embarks on the arduous drive to visit her in rural Kazakhstan. On the way, he reflects on his life and career in a series of daydreams that blur the boundary between reality and fantasy. This blend of road movie and film-about-film, often compared to Fellini’s 8½, captures Omirbaev’s fractured sense of self at a turning point in Kazakh film history.

THE ROAD • ЖОЛ
Directed by Darezhan Omirbaev
Written by Darezhan Omirbaev and Limara Zjeksembayeva
Cinematography by Boris Troshev
Starring: Jamshed Usmonov, Saule Toktybayeva, Alnur Turgambayeva

In Kazakh and Russian with English subtitles