Book Launch – The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925-1991: An Uneasy Legacy

The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925-1991: An Uneasy Legacy

Featuring Peter Rollberg, Professor of Slavic Languages, Film Studies and International Affairs

Join us on a journey through the history of Kazakh filmmaking, from Soviet production to national cinema and arthouse phenomenon.

Ludmila Pruner, one of the first American scholars to deal with the cinema of Kazakhstan, once wrote: “One of the most tragic consequences of the socialist regime had been the catastrophic loss of the republics’ individual cultural heritage, traditions, diversity, imagination and creativity.” The Cinema of Soviet Kazakhstan 1925–1991: An Uneasy Legacy explores how Kazakh filmmakers struggled to develop their distinctive voices under Soviet mentorship, and how their achievements deserve to be rediscovered.

The GW Elliott School of International Affairs Book Launch Series is proud to present a virtual discussion of the book, co-sponsored by the Central Asia Program. This fully virtual event will feature remarks by Dr. Alyssa Ayres, Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, presentations by the author and by Dr. Beumers- a leading specialist on Kazakh Cinema – and a moderated Q&A.

About the Author

Peter Rollberg is a Professor of Slavic Languages, Film Studies and International Affairs at the George Washington University, and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research Initiatives at the Elliott School of International Affairs. He has also served as Director of the GWU Honors Program, of the Film Studies Program, and of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. His other publications include The A to Z of Russian and Soviet Cinema, and The Modern Encyclopedia of East Slavic, Baltic, and Central Asian Literatures. He holds a Ph.D. in Russian Literature from the University of Leipzig.

About the Dean

Alyssa Ayres is the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Before joining the Elliott School, she was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia under the Obama administration. She holds a Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Literatures from the University of Chicago.

About the Host

Graham Cornwell is the Assistant Dean for Research at the Elliott School, where he leads the school research portfolio and grants administration. He has served as a research consultant at the U.S. Institute of Peace Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States, and is also a proud alumnus of the Elliott School. He earned his Ph.D. in Middle East History from Georgetown University, where his work was supported by a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad.

About the Moderator

Marlene Laruelle is a Research Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School and Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Her work focuses on the rise of populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe and Central Asia, and she has held multiple grants from the U.S. State Department, the Defense Department, and the National Science Foundation. She holds a Ph.D. in History from INALCO Paris.

About the Panelist

Birgit Beumers is Professor Emeritus in Film Studies at the University of Aberystwyth (UK). She specializes in Russian culture, cinema and theatre, and the cinemas of the former Soviet territories. Her publications include A History of Russian Cinema, A Companion to Russian Cinema (editor), and Cinema in Central Asia: Rewriting Cultural Histories (editor). She is also an editor of the book series KINO (Bloomsbury), and of KinoSputniks (intellect), as well as of the journals KinoKultura and Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema.