Altyn Adam: How Filmmakers Quarreled Over Cartoon About Scythian Warrior

The animators who created the film Altyn Adam have claimed not to have received pay for their work. The management of Kazakhfilm and the Center for Support of National Cinema responded.

Several days ago, the film crew of the cartoon Altyn Adam, dedicated to the Scythian warrior who became a symbol of Kazakhstan, gathered near the Kazakhfilm studio. As reported by KTK, the animators, led by director Yerlan Toleutay, stated that they had not been paid for over a year. And recently, they were asked to leave the studio.

They demanded a personal meeting with the Kazakhfilm head, Azamat Satybaldy. They, however, met with the vice president for production, Aidar Omarov. He explained that some of the money had indeed not been paid, but this concerned professional fees, not salaries. 

A few days later, Azamat Satybaldy finally responded to the events surrounding the cartoon. He posted a message on Instagram outlining his point of view. He reiterated that part of the unpaid money is fees. Satybaldy says this is only 10% of the amount allocated for work remuneration. 

The project began in 2019. It has been going on for five years and cannot be completed. According to the latest deadline, it was supposed to be completed in 2023. This project was commissioned by the National Cinema Support Center (NCSC - Ed.). Kazakhfilm is the executive body. Kazakhfilm also cannot receive its funds and is suffering, Satybaldy wrote.

As Kazakhfilm's president writes, the NCSC did not accept the proposed project, leading to a trial that ended in June of this year with a handshake.

In this situation, it is wrong to blame me and Kazakhfilm, who have nothing to do with the project. Kazakhfilm is also an affected party. Be that as it may, the Altyn Adam project will be released. The creative team will receive their fees. A little time and patience are needed,  Satybaldy wrote.

NCSC director Kurmanbek Zhumagali expressed a different point of view on his Facebook page. According to him, the completion of the project has already been postponed three times. The animated film's release was initially planned for 2021, 2022, and then the end of 2023.

Zhumagali has stated that the total cost of the Altyn Adam project is 378 million tenge, 294 have already been paid.

Why weren't the remaining 84 million paid? Because the project was supposed to be completed by the end of 2023. However, at the end of the year, the team again submitted an unfinished project. The expert council made 126 comments on the project. As I already mentioned, these problems were not corrected in a timely manner. The problem dragged on for years, and so the case between the NCSC and Kazakhfilm went to court. The state cannot allocate funds for unfinished projects. In this regard, the remaining 84 million tenge were returned to the state budget, Zhumagali writes.

Zhumagali also wrote that the project is planned to be completed, and the animated film will be released. Zhumagali also described how they intend to settle the debt with the animators:

20% of the net profit from the distribution will be transferred to the NCSC, and the remaining 80% will remain at Kazakhfilm's disposal. Thus, Kazakhfilm will settle the debt with the film crew of this project.

At the same time, Zhumagali emphasized that there is no conflict between him and Satybaldy. They put forward a version that a group of people are trying to undermine the development of Kazakhstan's cinema. 

Both of them took over the cinema organizations last year.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin