River Dreams

A “Heimatfilm” with a difference: Kristina Mikhailova asks women and girls to imagine themselves as a river. Village girls, young female city dwellers, LGBT and gender positivity activists, a headmistress singing the praises of gender-conformist education, women in prison, students with dreams of emigrating, as well as recurring conversations of toxic masculinity, sexual assault and finally the trial of a former economics minister widely reported on in Kazakhstan who brutally murdered his wife Saltanat Nukenova. But on the banks of the unassuming river Aksay the “river girls” also talk of their desires, dreams and utopias. A brave act since the interviews take place against the backdrop of a gender-conservativism that is often hard to imagine. The thus emerging panorama of female life plans, including the opportunities to realise these in Kazakhstan, combines into poetry through the guiding metaphor of the river. With radical tenderness and almost sociological rigour, feminist demos and the art of active listening give rise to political scenes marked by sisterhood and solidarity. (Gaby Babić, Barbara Wurm)

Kristina Mikhailova is a director, producer, and artist from Kazakhstan. Her debut feature River Dreams premiers at the Berlinale Forum. Her artistic practice extends beyond film; she has participated in a collective exhibition at the Venice Biennale. As an activist, Kristina founded ‘Women make docs’, a grassroots initiative supporting female documentary filmmakers in Central Asia.

Director Kristina Mikhailova. Screenplay Kristina Mikhailova. Cinematography Amir Zarubekov. Editing Arya Rothe, Kristina Mikhailova. Sound Design Alexandr Khimich. Producer Dana Sabitova. Co-Producers Vadim Jendreyko, Nadira Murray. Production company 24 FPS (Almaty, Kazakhstan). With Alexandra Cherezova, Dana Ageleuova, Mira Ungarova, Aiya Kuzenbayeva, Juliya Jenis, Kristina Mikhailova, Dariya Temirhan, Tamara Yelantseva, Yakha Alieva, Akzel Beisembay, Inzhu Abeu, Gulnaz Moldakhmet, Sandugash Manapova.

World sales Cinephil

Films: 2021: Algiz (short film). 2026: River Dreams.