Project Title: “In between”

Producer’s Name: Yerkezhan Maksut

Director’s Name: Alina Mustafina

Based on real events

TREATMENT

Sholpan, 36 years old, opens her balcony. We see a Parisian street in autumn. She makes a
salad with cucumbers and tomatoes and puts some cucumbers on her face as a facial mask.
She smokes at the window in the kitchen, joking with a French roommate about why she is
harming herself from the inside and healing outside.
Her mom and grandma call via WhatsApp, wondering why she is not married to a nice
French man yet. Grandma questions why she hasn't found a Kazakh man in Paris if they are
so undetermined and instead of babysitting someone’s child, she suggests that she should
have already had her own kid. Sholpan was raised by her grandmother, so by phone she is
quite cold to her mom and much warmer to grandma. Sholpan works online and afterwards
goes babysitting. On the way to work she checks her Instagram feed and sees the news about
the murderer of 30-year-old woman Dina Nurayeva by her husband, Kazakhstan high-ranking
State official Baltabayev. She reads and swipes away. Instead she tries to write a post, typing.

She is in the newspaper office. Her boss congratulates Sholpan on finishing her internship.
She gathers all her belongings from her workspace, including her certificate, and leaves
quietly.
Sholpan is in a café with her accomplishment certificate on the table. She receives a
complimentary dessert from the café, a gift from one of her followers - Karina. The waitress,
also from Kazakhstan, loves Sholpan's honest posts. They talk about their nostalgia, and
Karina wonders if this transplanting shock (that’s how Sholpan calls movement to France
from Kazakhstan) will ever pass. Sholpan says it won't, but you get used to living with it, like
with a hole in your heart. Girls also discuss Kazakh News, which Sholpan read recently about
Dina Nurayeva who was killed by her husband and Karina knows about. Karina offers to
organise a meeting to support Dina and women in Kazakhstan. Sholpan denies, saying that it
won’t help.
Sholpan comes back home alone. She takes out her mobile phone to take some pictures for
her blog, suggesting that every place should have something to support people. If you feel sad
or lonely, you would look at it and feel better. In Almaty it’s mountains, in Paris - The Eiffel
Tower gives a wink. Sholpan tries to film the Eiffel Tower, but she receives a message on
WhatsApp. She sits on a bench, looking shocked. She cries, and suddenly music starts
playing, and the Eiffel Tower starts winking in different colours.
Sholpan is in the town of Talgar. She attends the memorial meal after the funeral of her
grandmother. She died. Everyone eats the national meal Beshparmak (noodle dough with
mutton and horse meat). Everyone greets Sholpan. Her mom is there, as is her stepfather,
Kairat. Conversations revolve around Sholpan’s marital status, with relatives and neighbours
whispering to each other about her relationships in France. There is a neighbour, Arman, who
comes with his mom as well.
Sholpan is at the river near her grandma’s house. She meets her classmate from school. She
has three kids around and tries to collect water from the river, putting it inside of the bucket.
She recognizes Sholpan and laments that she is so beautiful and still unmarried.
Sholpan is at her town’s bazaar, trying to buy local food. She talks in Russian with a
salesperson, who replies in Kazakh. She barely understands him, resorting to Google
Translate for some words. After buying samosas, she takes out her mobile phone and tries to
record stories in a blog, expressing how she feels like a stranger in her own hometown. She
gets shy, changes her position, and repeats. She says that she feels like she's somewhere in
between — not yet fully like French people, but already like a foreigner in her own country.
She offers her followers who live there to meet in a city (Almaty) near her village in a cafe.
Sholpan's mom and stepfather arrive with many suitcases. He lost their apartment in the
casino.
Sholpan is at the French embassy in Almaty. The consultant tells her that because her visa in
France is over, as she finishes her studies already. So she can’t return to France until she gets
a job there with an invitation. In order to get a tourist visa, she needs a permanent job in
Kazakhstan.
Sholpan tries to find a job in France. Meanwhile, searching in her room with a laptop, we
hear her stepfather watching Kazakh news about how the trial about the murderer of Dina by
her husband started. Baltabayev says that his wife fell down over the toilet and on the floor
by herself. Sholpan wears earphones just not to hear it.
Sholpan is in a café at an empty table, waiting for her followers to come, but only one girl
shows up. She asks Sholpan if she wants to get married one day, because after the case with
Dina and Baltabayev she is scared to meet a gaslighter and manipulator. Sholpan says she
wants to find her man, but hasn’t met him neither in France, nor in Kazakhstan.
Kairat asks Sholpan’s mom behind her back when she is going to leave for France or at least
get married. Mom lies to Sholpan that grandma had gynecological sickness and most
probably died from it. She remembers it was a sickness that could have been treated much
faster if grandma could have delivered a child. At her age, it was impossible. The sickness is
genetic. So, if Sholpan wants to decrease the risk, she'd better think about having a child and
getting married. Sholpan opens her laptop and reads about Angelina Jolie, who underwent a
mastectomy and later removed her ovaries and fallopian tubes, significantly reducing her risk
of developing cancer.
Sholpan is in a gynaecologist's room for a checkup. While she is there, a woman, 50 years
old, enters and sells nuts, placing them on the table. Meanwhile, choosing nuts, the
gynaecologist asks Sholpan some questions: Do you have a sexual relationship? How many
partners have you had? Are you married? Why didn’t you get pregnant, at least for yourself,
before it's too late? Sholpan stands up and leaves the doctor without being checked, saying
that she can sue her for such judgments. The gynaecologist, in turn, laughs, saying that we
already have enough courts in our country. Sholpan shoots through the phone corridors in the
clinic, capturing the faces of some women waiting. She also takes a picture of the nuts on the
table during the pause in the conversation with the gynaecologist.
Sholpan is at a checkup with a Breast Physician. He is about 70 years old and examines
Sholpan's breasts, asking if she has kids. She says that she is not even married. The doctor
comments that her boyfriend is supposed to be a jerk. But it's better if she gets pregnant as
soon as possible because her biological clock is ticking.
Sholpan is on the streets of Almaty. Holding the phone, she records herself for reels
reportage, saying that she has already forgotten how to be a woman in this country. She
expresses frustration with the societal pressure for women to marry and have children. We see
her videos of women in the clinic and women on the streets of her town Talgar and in Almaty.
Sholpan becomes angry, and her speech is bold and straightforward. We see reels-reportage in
her phone about women in the country who are in between, similar to Sholpan. Reels receive
more than 1000 reposts.

Sholpan sits in a coffee shop with coffee and a laptop. Her friend Zhibek comes in a fur coat.
Sholpan wonders why her friend never visits her in Paris, considering she doesn’t have
money for a ticket and is wearing fur. Her friend says that she prefers to invest in her
appearance, even though she came there by trolleybus. Zhibek shows Sholpan with whom she
is having a date today. She opens Kazakh Tinder, and they both see men who write in their
bio: "need a woman who can cook well," "a height less than 165 don’t bother," etc. Sholpan
is shocked. She explains that in France, guys invite ladies for homemade dinner. She shows
her friend some pictures of French Tinder. Zhibek is shocked, asking why Sholpan didn’t stay
in France and marry someone there.
Sholpan tries to go on dates, but all her dates turn into something awkward or she sees in
guys manipulators. She describes them in her blog. Women react with a lot of enthusiasm.
One guy attracts the attention of Sholpan, they talk about places of power and the guy says
that for him it is definitely Kazakhstan.

Sholpan is in her hometown. While searching for a job in France, she becomes a witness to a
fight between her stepfather and mother. Dinara tries to protect her mom, but she asks
Sholpan to leave. Sholpan moves in with her friend Zhibek. Zhibek’s daughter, Aylin, talks to
her in Kazakh, and Sholpan starts learning some words. She starts searching for a job in
Kazakhstan to survive while still hoping to return to France. She receives some phone calls;
some say she is overqualified, some say they will call her later, some offer small salaries,
some say she’d better learn Kazakh instead of French and some say after 35 they don’t hire.

Sholpan is in a taxi. The driver listens to the court of Baltabayev, where a medical expert
describes traumas from which Dina died, underlining the fact that It is obvious that she was
beaten with a fist or a shoe sole. Sholpan asks him to turn the court live stream off. The driver
asks her something in Kazakh. She doesn’t reply, predicting loudly that he would probably
shame her now that she doesn’t speak the native language. She opens up to the taxi driver,
saying that in her family no one talks to her in Kazakh, even though they know it. He
supposed that she is angry because of her husband and boyfriend. She raises her voice at him,
irritated that in some parts of the world, people don't necessarily need relationships and
children to be happy. And especially not to get married. The taxi driver responds that all this
is inhuman. She insists that we should fight against it by not keeping quiet. After that,
Sholpan stops talking, and the taxi driver asks her why she is quiet and requests to turn off
that court's live stream.

When Sholpan reaches Zhibek, she is already waiting outside with her daughter, saying that
she has a date tonight at home and asks Sholpan to walk for about an hour. When Zhibek
leaves, Sholpan sees Arman (a guy from a funeral meal). He came to invite Zhibek to his
home this weekend.
Sholpan comes home, checks news about Baltabayev and court, sees the video, how he beats
Dina in the restaurant, where she died. She stands up, walks with a phone around the room.
Stays near the window, near the door Kayrat screams at her mother. Sholpan firmly closes the
door. She starts recording herself and writing something.

Winter. Sholpan is at Arman's house. His mom asks her for help with food, saying that she is
getting old, and this house needs a mistress. Arman comes and calls Sholpan a superstar,
congratulating her with many thousands of new followers. He watches her reels, where
Sholpan describes misogyny and gaslighting of Kazakh society, talking about her own father,
stepfather, and about the current court. Many women send Sholpan their stories about their
cases of domestic violence. Arman watches for a while and says looking to Sholpan: Not
everything is so straightforward. Sholpan looks at him differently with disappointment, but he
doesn’t notice it.

Sholpan is at a job interview at a famous magazine. The HR manager apologizes, but due to
the company policy, he has to ask her if she is going to get married soon and have kids.
Sholpan says that at her age, it is more likely she will be an old cat lady. HR smiles and says
that he likes her and wants to try her on a probation period soon if she brings some
documents today. Sholpan is at her Talgar home. She came while Kairat was sleeping drunk.
She found the needed documents with her diplomas and certificates. Among them is the
medical certificate that grandma died because of a heart attack, so she understands that mom
lied to her. Sholpan brings the needed documents to the reception of the magazine. The
following day, Arman suddenly brings groceries for Sholpan, Zhibek, and her daughter.
Arman remembers Sholpan’s grandma, how she helped them when he was little, growing up
without a father. Sholpan decides to join Arman in her town to meet her mom.
He stops the car in front of the café where Sholpan saw her mother. Sholpan suggests to
Arman not to wait for her. “Not now, nor in general, because one day anyway I will be back
to France,” she says.
At the café, her mother insists on sitting a little bit with her colleagues. Mom’s colleagues,
two men, get tipsy with alcohol, and each one tries to invite her to dance. She rejects them.
Her drunk stepfather Kairat gets mad and screams at Sholpan, that at her age it’s shameful to
reject such respectable men. Mother stands up and tries to pull Sholpan home. Kairat screams
more, Sholpan’s mom takes Sholpan’s mobile, asks her to open a camera and gives it to her:
film, daughter, film. She calls Kairat a jerk, takes Sholpan and leaves.
Sholpan asks why she lied about her grandmother's sickness. She said it was because
grandma and her have always wanted Sholpan to have a family, kids, and happiness. “Like
yours?” - said Sholpan, together with her mom, who said “Like mine”. At the same time,
Dinara starts laughing. Sholpan smiles with sadness, thanking her mom for taking her side in
the café.
They go to grandma's home hugging each other. They see the grumpy neighbour Gulya, tell
her hi, she doesn’t reply. Sholpan wonders loudly, why many people in the country have such
grumpy faces, is it so difficult to say hi and be friendly? Mom thinks that it’s better than
hypocrisy. Smile to you, but when you need help never call.
Sholpan wakes up in her grandma's house by lunchtime because of the call. It’s her ex-boss
from France. He offered her a job because he is very impressed with her blogging success
and he likes her reportage style reels with personal opinion and emotions. He offers to do
something similar in France. Sholpan is shocked.

In the taxi to Almaty, Sholpan looks outside. Snow is melting. Sholpan looks out her window
and writes in her blog, what is home? Where you were born, where you became useful, where
you love someone, where someone loves you?.. She records a video for stories, inviting
people to the park for supporting Dina and fair justice. Meanwhile the HR manager who
offered her a probation period calls. She said she needs more time to think about the offer
because she has some problems with her cats.
Sholpan is collecting her stuff at Zhibek’s place, all the while talking to her daughter in basic
Kazakh. Zhibek takes an envelope from the shelf and gives it to Sholpan. She sold her fur.
Zhibek says that spring is coming, also they go with Aylin (her daughter) to see the sea for
the first time and if best friends need money for the ticket and life in France it’s a great
opportunity to sell the fur and give her some money too.

The park is full of women. She walks around and all women are busy: some make posters
about Dina, some encourage others to sign up the petition against home violence in order to
criminalise it. Some people come with tulips, some with other flowers, some with candles
and pictures of their mothers, sisters. Someone comes and offers to sign a petition. Sholpan
agrees, opens her mobile, doing it, someone recognizes her, saying her nickname in
Instagram. Some women come and hug her. Some say thanks for the inspiration of being
yourself and doing what they want to do. Some say that they really enjoy her posts about
Tinder. Some gave her some flowers and asked when she is going to France? Man from
Tinder (the one who she liked before) comes also and asks if she has finally found her place
of power and goes back to France. Sholpan replies that finally she got it. And it’s right here
(showing her heart)

Sholpan walks on a beautiful street in Almaty, along the way there are some youngsters
including couples. Suddenly a street musician starts singing. Sholpan looks around, cries,
looks at the sky and trees, which already have green buds.
Sholpan is next to the house of her grandma, there is that grumpy neighbour Gulya. While
Sholpan puts all her flowers from the meeting on the bench, Gulya, for the first time ever,
starts talking to her. She gives her something in flannel fabrics with words: It’s my part of
Asar. (Asar is a tradition of grant aid to a person in need), I heard you go back to France, so
you need them more. She asks Sholpan to stop crying because spring is coming. Sholpan says
that it’s the reason she cries and invites her to join grandma's birthday celebration, which is
today. They enter home, there are already Sholpan’s mom, Zhibek, and her daughter. No
stepfather. Dinara gives an envelope to Sholpan, saying that it’s their Asar to her, so she can
rent a normal flat before she will have money from salary to afford it by herself.
Suddenly Sholpan asks, who can drop her at the cemetery? Everybody decided to join.

Sholpan goes to the grave of her grandmother. She asks sorry for her grandma. Sorry for not
coming earlier, sorry that Parisian life made her so busy that she couldn’t come. She starts
crying, asking her grandma’s soul any suggestion of the most difficult choice she has to
make. Suddenly Aylin - Zhibek’s daughter screams in Kazakh: “Sholpan, are you going
home?”. Sholpan looks around, around her there is steppe and mountains in the background.
“Yes, I am going,” she says to herself first. And then screams to Aylin: “I am going…
home!”. She runs to the little girl, takes her hand, and walks with all people together through
the beautiful landscape: steppe, mountains, and the river. There are many snowdrop flowers.
Aylin gets one and presents it to Sholpan. Spring is all around.

Black screen

After extensive public outcry and an open trial of the former Minister of Economy of
Kazakhstan, the law criminalising domestic violence was passed in the Senate and sent to the
President for signature. This film is dedicated to all activists who have ever written about
women's rights on social media platforms
Director's Statement
The entire country is in shock over the open trial currently taking place against the former
Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan, Kandyk Bishimbayev. He murdered his wife, Saltanat
Nukenova and is now gaslighting her memory. And this is not just another case of domestic
violence. This trial is a reflection of our country. It is at this time that my protagonist returns
to Kazakhstan from France. And it is this event that prompts her to unite with other women,
to speak out, to fight for their rights and dignity, and to change society. I myself am a
journalist, blogger, and civil activist. I have written extensively about women's rights and the
trial of Bishimbayev. And I was shocked by how many women shared their stories with me.
Stories of abuse, of domestic violence, stories of pain and injustice. I want to make this film
for the Kazakh audience because it is very important for all of us not to remain silent but to
change the country in which we live. We have almost no films about women made by women
themselves. And that's why I believe this film is also my civic duty.

I call myself a nomad (like my character) because for the last 14 years, I have been living in
different parts of the world, in various cities and countries. Last year, I returned to
Kazakhstan once again. I know what it's like to adapt to a new culture repeatedly, to feel
different from everyone else in a new place, and no longer like the people back home. The
issue of self-identity is a pressing topic for Kazakhstan now. My character initially feels like a
foreigner in her own country; she does not understand not only her native language but also
the people, and even her own mother. She's caught somewhere in between. In this transition,
between our self-identity and post-Soviet heritage, between the "old and new Kazakhstan,"
the entire country, including myself, finds itself. Gradually, the character begins to understand
people and their mentality again, noticing not only the infringement of her boundaries but
also the sincerity of locals, which touches her heart. Additionally, the character learns the
basics of the Kazakh language throughout the film.

Another aspect of the film addresses the social problem of women in the country. Women in
the country also navigate between the struggle for equal rights, emancipation, and patriarchal
traditions. Women's boundaries are violated not only in job applications, where they are
asked about marriage and childbirth plans, but also in medical institutions, where offensive
labels like "geriatric mother," "give birth for yourself," and "the clock is ticking" are thrown
around.

Throughout the film, she finally finds a firm and confident voice through her blog, inspiring
many women in the process. All the stories are authentic and real. The character's phone is
also a significant element of the film. Through it, she shares her stories, asks questions aloud,
and provides her answers, which are then heard by thousands of people across the country.
The use of Instagram and Tinder apps will serve as artistic devices in the film. The political
situation in the country will be depicted through the news that the stepfather watches from the
couch. The news noise will serve as a kind of "background" that will intertwine with the
storyline in various ways. The changing seasons will mirror the character's emotions, starting
with her arrival in Almaty during a golden autumn, enduring a long, cold winter of
disappointment and loneliness, and finally finding strength and support by spring.
Art Concept, mood board is attached here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DFw8PWDjWTiUpATllA-4l_m59-p2hA2C/view?usp=sharing

Budget plan in Kazakh Tenge. Applying for the Kazakh national fund this year. Not confirmed
yet.

Preproductio
№ list of expenditures Production Editing Total
n

1. Royalties
Script 5,000,000 0 0 5,000,000
Music 0 0 5,000,000 5,000,000
Author rights 0 8,000,000 6,000,000 14,000,000
Licence for ready music, archive and
other visual materials
Total 5,000,000 8,000,000 11,000,000 24,000,000
2. Salaries
Salaries of company employees 6,650,000 14,500,000 8,400,000 29,550,000
Specialists freelancers 0 39,310,000 300,000 39,610,000
Actor's royalties 14,750,000 0 14,750,000
Mass actors royalties 3,000,000 1,650,000 4,650,000
Taxes for salaries 794,890 1,726,100 910,080 3,431,070
Total 7,444,890 73,286,100 11,260,080 91,991,070
3. Materials
Videos 800,000 0 0 800,000
Other materials 0 0 0 0
Total 800,000 0 0 800,000
4. Service
Pavilion, interior, nature, decorations 0 5,000,000 5,000,000
 Lighting equipment 0 10,290,000 10,290,000
Production equipment 0 15,500,000 15,500,000
Sound record 0 0 1,800,000 1,800,000
Editing 0 3,000,000 3,000,000
Computer graphics and colour grading 0 4,000,000 4,000,000
Other technical services 0 0 0
Art department 6,000,000 3,500,000 0 9,500,000
Totally 6,000,000 34,290,000 8,800,000 49,090,000
5. Transport
cars 1,000,000 5,000,000 500,000 6,500,000
buses 0 3,750,000 0 3,750,000
tracks 735,000 1,750,000 350,000 2,835,000
special transport 0 6,125,000 0 6,125,000
Totally 1,735,000 16,625,000 850,000 19,210,000
6. Shooting abroad
Daily food expenditures 750,000 2,700,000 3,450,000
Living expenses 1,500,000 9,000,000 10,500,000
transportation 1,500,000 6,000,000 7,500,000
Totally 3,750,000 17,700,000 0 21,450,000

Script will be available soon. Currently only in Russian.

Portrait photos of the producer and author/director (JPG, printable size 300dpi