Centaur
by Aktan Arym Kubat
Centaur is a quiet, small and modest man, a loving father of a little boy that has never spoken a word and the husband of young, deaf-mute Maripa. Together they lead a simple life in a small village of Kyrgyzstan. Centaur is above all a respected man among his neighbours, a man beyond any suspicion, but he has a belief deeply rooted inside him. He still believes that Kyrgyz people once united and invincible thanks to their horses, have been punished by Heavens for misusing that power to achieve their mercenary goals.Beyond any suspicion, Centaur becomes a horse thief, as he thinks only a genuine racer riding at night and praying for forgiveness can write off the curse. But his well-hidden secret cannot be kept for long. When the truth shines, he will need to decide the destiny of his family, co-villagers and his own.
Aktan Arym Kubat was born in 1957 in Kyrgyzstan. He graduated from the Art Academy in Bishkek and started working as a production designer in the 80s. »The Swing«, his second feature lm, won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 1993. In 1998, he won again, this time the Silver Leopard with »The Adopted Son«.
In 2001, »The Chimp« was selected to Un Certain Regard in Cannes and it was nominated by the European Film Academy for the Discovery Award. »The Light Thief«, which premiered at Director's Fortnight in Cannes, won numerous awards and was screened in many festivals such as Locarno, Toronto, Montreal, Viennale, Doha and Tribeca. Centaur is Kubat's sixth feature film.
FILMOGRAPHY
2016 CENTAUR
2010 THE LIGHT THIEF
2009 MOTHERS HEAVEN
2001 THE CHIMP
1998 THE ADOPTED SON
1993 THE SWING
1992 WHERE IS YOUR HOUSE, SNAIL?
Nurberdi - Nuraly Tursunkojoev
Maripa - Zarema Asanalieva
Centaur - Aktan Arym Kubat
Sharapat - Taalaikan Abazova
Sadyr - Ilim Kalmuratov
Karabay - Bolot Tentimyshov
Teit - Maksat Mamyrkanov
director Aktan Arym Kubat
screenplay Aktan Arym Kubat & Ernest Abdyjaparov
director of photography Khassan Kydyraliev
editing Petar Markovic
music Andre Matthias
sound Gerben Kokmeijer
re-recording mixer Matthias Schwab
sound design Manuel Laval
production design Adis Seitaliev
costume design Inara Abdieva
producers Altynai Koichumanova, Cedomir Kolar,
Thanassis Karathanos, Marc Baschet, Denis Vaslin
co-producers Martin Hampel, Danis Tanovic, Yûji Sadai,
Fleur Knopperts, Gulmira Kerimova
produced by Oy Art, A.S.A.P. Films, Pallas Film, Volya Films
format DCP / color / 2.35:1 / 5.1
length 89 min.
language Kirghiz