Aisultan Seit: Rewriting the Rules of Cinema

To Aisultan Seit, cinema isn’t about spectacle, it’s about sensation—the kind that stays with you long after the credits roll. At just 28, this Kazakh director is quietly reshaping what contemporary Kazakh cinema can feel like, steeping his work in the sensory detail of everyday life. It is meticulous yet intimate, tender yet controlled. And shaped by the small moments that make the ordinary cinematic, it’s less concerned with narrative closure than emotional truth. That sensibility emerged from the boundless curiosity of the internet.

“Internet, Christopher Nolan, Ryan Higa, and anime,” says the Almaty-based filmmaker, listing the early influences that shaped his creative instincts. Those reference points – a mix of blockbuster vision, digital experimentation, and stylised storytelling – inform a practice that moves easily between precision and experimental freedom. Before making films, Seit cut his teeth on commercials and music videos, teaching himself to control tone, rhythm, and atmosphere. It’s a mastery he demonstrated in the acclaimed and heartfelt video for 21 Savage’s song “A Lot”, which was included by Rolling Stone in its list of the 150 greatest hip-hop videos of all time.

It’s the kind of training that now defines his signature visual language. His debut feature, Qas (2022), marked a milestone for both the filmmaker and cinema in Kazakhstan. Set in the 1930s, the film explores a turbulent period in the country’s history through imagery that is both historical and dreamlike. “I want people to cry watching my films,” he tells Dazed MENA. It’s not sentimentality he’s seeking but something more profound: an emotional connection that transcends language. Through sparse dialogue, layered symbolism, and meticulous framing, Qas transforms historical memory into something immediate and alive.

Seit is also the founder of QARA Studios and the creative force behind OYU, a music and visual project that bridges sound and image. His work – spanning film, fashion, and experimental visuals – echoes the belief that storytelling is at its most powerful when it defies boundaries. “I’m obsessed with obsessed people,” he explains, describing his fascination with those who pursue their craft with total devotion.

That same devotion drives his engagement with the community around him. When asked about his connection to local culture, the filmmaker simply replies, “Pretty deep.” It’s a terse yet modest understatement from someone whose stories capture the spirit of modern Kazakhstan with rare care and nuance. Good food and socialisation, he says, is what fuels his creativity—a fitting driving force for someone whose art is rooted in exploring the small human gestures that make big emotions possible.

Seit is now working on his second feature film, continuing to refine his cinematic vision. His hope for the creative future of Central Asia is simple: “Unpredictable, uncomfortable, and uncompromising.” The same could be said of his work, an ever-evolving study of emotion, image, and identity that refuses to settle.