KO'SH - "The Herd"

“Ko’sh” was a very collaborative project. It was a very smooth road towards the final product thanks to the whole team, my family, my supervisor and every single person that took part in this project. From the very beginning I was sure that the film would revolve around the process of seasonal migration. The seasonal migration is a very ancient tradition in our Kazakh culture, it has been for many centuries. This tradition was the root of nomadic lifestyle. The location which the tribe is going to migrate to directly depended on this process. It was an economic and political matter as well. The process of seasonal migration holds so much wisdom and mirrors the characteristics of Kazakh people. It also shows love and interest Kazakh people had towards horses.

The reason I chose this topic was the fact that this tradition of seasonal migration is perishing. Almost nobody practices it anymore. Obviously, most Kazakh people became urban, which is why the tradition is fading away. With this film I wanted people to remember their roots, to start horseback riding again, to start getting interested in their culture and history. This film is about youth and what our adults leave as a heritage to us. It shows how a father involves his son in his matters. As a matter of fact, not only his son but his whole family. It is a film that advertises family, religious and cultural values.

Through this film I wanted people of other cultures to understand the nature and the character of Kazakh people. At the beginning me and my family came up with an idea of making an actual narrative film with acting and add bits and pieces of the migration. However, it would have been a struggle to film the acting parts, because of budget constraints. As we proceeded brainstorming about the idea it took its shape and was moulded into a full documentary. After having a conversation with my supervisor, the idea was fully developed and ready for production.

We knew that we wanted to add a sequence where my father tells my brother a story about one very important figure in Kazakh history. However, the fact that it was chopped into several parts during the editing process made this sequence even more interesting and unique. I think it added so much to the film. There were so many ideas that were born on the spot during the process, which I think is the best part of this journey towards the final product. Moreover, the unexpected process of documentary filmmaking is the most interesting part. You never know how it’s going to be until you are there sitting in front of 450 galloping horses desperately trying to capture the shot.