Sacred Mangystau

Serik’s journey in the creative industries started when he was studying at school – he worked as a sound director at the Auezov theatre in Almaty. In 2002 Serik started working on TV, at the Kazakhstan channel. There he worked as a sound director, video editor, and a year later, as a director. Having decided to try himself out in directing, in 2004 Serik started his studies at the T.K. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts on the “Film & TV” faculty.

Throughout his career as a director, Serik has created many films. His first documentary was called “Mukagali’s Truth”, and showcased the life and work of Kazakh poet and writer Mukagali Makatayev. Since then, Serik has stayed true to his style – he continues to make popular science and historical documentaries, such as “The Guard of Civilization” and “Like a Teardrop”.

Serik has participated in the Moscow International Film Festival, Eurasian Film Festival, and is a two-time winner of the student film festival “Didar” in the Best Feature Film nomination with his film Thief in 2008, and with the film “Saqa” in 2010 in the Best Feature Film with National Elements nomination. In 2014, Serik received a certificate and badge as an “Honorary Worker in the Field of Information” of the Agency for Communications and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2017, he received a commemorative medal for the 100 year anniversary of the Alash autonomy.

Serik’s dream is to create films about the ALZhIR camp, Semipalatinsk Test Site. He believes these topics to be eternal, demanding discussion.