{"id":658202,"date":"2025-03-21T13:05:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/we-live-here-examines-an-ex-soviet-nuclear-test-site-in-kazakhstan-a-paradox-etched-into-land\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T13:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:05:13","slug":"we-live-here-examines-an-ex-soviet-nuclear-test-site-in-kazakhstan-a-paradox-etched-into-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/we-live-here-examines-an-ex-soviet-nuclear-test-site-in-kazakhstan-a-paradox-etched-into-land\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018We Live Here\u2019 Examines an Ex-Soviet Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan: a \u201cParadox Etched Into Land\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\u201cOn a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction,\u201d reads the synopsis for director Zhanana Kurmasheva\u2019s debut feature We Live Here<\/em> (Atameken<\/em>). The documentary about the lasting impact of a former Soviet nuclear test site in Kazakhstan will world premiere on Sunday at CPH:DOX, the\u00a0Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, which opened in Denmark\u2019s capital on Wednesday and runs through March 30.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the vast steppes of Kazakhstan, although years have passed since the tests, \u201cthe past is still haunting the site,\u201d notes the synopsis of the film, which was produced by Banu Ramazanova. \u201cBetween 1949 and 1991, 456 nuclear tests left a legacy of radioactive contamination at the Semipalatinsk test site where one couple, convinced that their daughter\u2019s illness stems from radiation, seeks proof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWith the steppe serving as a haunting metaphor for the broader world \u2014 or even the entire planet \u2014 Kurmasheva\u2019s debut feature \u201cis a chilling and cinematic work, with each carefully arranged image contributing to a whole that only grows in existential gravity and historical scale as the film progresses,\u201d the CPH:DOX website<\/a> says. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe movie, the first-ever film from Kazakhstan to screen at the Copenhagen festival, will debut as one of 12 entries in its Dox:Award: international competition lineup.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere have been many films and TV series<\/a> about this topic in our country because it\u2019s part of the wounds of our nation,\u201d Kurmasheva explains to THR<\/em>. \u201cSo some of the locals are tired of talking about it because they have not seen many results. But my mother was born there. And for me, this story is not just something to cry about. Of course, it\u2019s awful. But first of all, it\u2019s about realizing what it means for us, and what we can do. Especially because [in our culture] it\u2019s our habit not to talk but just hide your feelings and thoughts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen she first arrived in the area of the former nuclear test site to start work on her doc, the filmmaker immedia<\/a>tely sensed how different the place felt. \u201cI\u2019m Kazakh, and I know what the steppe is. But this steppe was totally different,\u201d she recalls. \u201cMy first question was where is the fence, where are the signs, how can I know where the radiation starts? You are in the center of the steppe, and you feel like you\u2019re alone on the planet, and you cannot hear anything else around, and you cannot see the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe continues: \u201cAnd when I talked with the local people, it was very hard to accept that we can do this to our people. Yes, the Soviet Union did all of that but what about us now? Why are we so indifferent to each other? It\u2019s our people, it\u2019s my nation. Why am I so indifferent? Why is our government so indifferent?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHighlighting the bigger global story behind the local stores, she also emphasizes that humans may cause their own extinction, but the planet could survive. \u201cOur nature is much stronger than us, and we are little, little creators who try to fight each other, but it\u2019s all that like nothing when you compare it to Earth,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\u2018We Live Here\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Plan B<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tGetting into Copenhagen is \u201ca stepping stone for our documentary community back home,\u201d Ramazanova tells THR<\/em>. \u201cIn Central Asia, documentaries are more traditionally on TV, and people don\u2019t take it as seriously as a creative . So this is a big push for our industry and for Central Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe adds: \u201cWe have been getting a lot of calls from Kazakhstan and Kurdistan, congratulating us, because it\u2019s an opportunity to turn people\u2019s eyes to Central Asia. And learning from CPH will help us share that knowledge with others in our film community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSales agent\u00a0Syndicado, which recently boarded the film, will also look to sell it to various parts of the world. \u201cIn Central Asia, to make an impact, you have to first make an impact abroad,\u201d producer Ramazanova tells THR<\/em>. \u201cYou\u2019re not validated here until critics and experts from Europe, Asia or the U.S. say that your film is important. And we do want to make an impact back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Plan B<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe director and producer already have a new doc in mind. \u201cWe do have our second feature that is in early development,\u201d Ramazanova shares. \u201cWe\u2019re staying in the field of ecology. The second feature is about mass consumerism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tShe can even share some more details: \u201cIt is about the path of one T-shirt \u2014 the cotton comes from Central Asia, it goes to Uzbekistan to become a fabric, and then it will end up in Chile, in the biggest [clothing landfill],\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s about being mindful about work and buying a lot of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWe Live Here<\/em> also feeds into a big hot-button topic of debate at a time when post-Soviet Union countries, including Ukraine, that gave up their nuclear arsenals have been debating whether they should bring back nuclear weapons in a world full of conflict.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a circle of history,\u201d says Kurmasheva. \u201cHumanity repeats what we did before. It\u2019s a circle that we\u2019re stuck in, and we cannot see how we can communicate with each other without weapons, without fighting.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Plan B<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tWe Live Here<\/em>\u2018s original title, Atameken<\/em>, means \u201cMy Sacred Land.\u201d The director says the phrase explains why locals stay in an area hit by radioactivity even when others may not understand that decision: \u201cI was born here. It\u2019s very special for me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is also related to independence and being decolonized. It\u2019s where their grandparents were born and where they\u2019re buried. They cannot leave that place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tConcludes Kurmasheva: \u201cIt\u2019s maybe a small place but it is the place where they live. But we all only have one place, only one Earth where we can live.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOn a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction,\u201d reads the synopsis for director Zhanana Kurmasheva\u2019s debut feature We Live Here (Atameken). The documentary about the lasting impact of a former Soviet nuclear…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":658203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/We-Live-Here-still-.jpg?w=776&h=437&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[154507,124783],"class_list":["post-658202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-cphdox","tag-international"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}