Cadet
A new harrowing horror mystery by Kazakh wunderkind Adilkhan Yerzhanov.
Single mother Alina tries to enroll her son, Serik, in an elite military academy, but he is bullied by his classmates because of his girlish appearance, and the principal deems him unfit for the school. Alina succeeds in getting Serik reinstated by taking advantage of Serik's father's high military rank. But she is warned by a woman whose son has committed suicide at the school that Serik will follow the same path...
The film reveals violence and corruption in the army in horror-film style, with dark cinematography and disturbing sound. The spiritus sovieticus also oozes out of every nook and cranny of this great film, the latest from Kazakh genre-auteur wunderkind Adilkhan Yerzhanov.
Adilkhan Yerzhanov (1982) graduated from the Kazakh National Academy of Arts as a film director in 2009, and then continued his training in New York. He is a two-time participant in the Official Programme of the Cannes Film Festival (“The Owners”, “The Gentle Indifference of the World”) and winner of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards for Achievement in Directing (“A Dark Dark Man”). He is a member of the European Film Academy.
Ukkili kamshat (Omanikud, PÖFF 2014), Laskovoe bezrazlichie mira (Maailma õrn ükskõiksus, PÖFF 2018), Sary mysyq (Kollane kass, PÖFF 2020), Ulbolsyn (Ulbolsõn - üksi kõigi vastu, PÖFF 2020), Onbagandar (Karjaimmuunsus, PÖFF 2021), Ademoka's Education (2021), Steppenwolf (2024), Moor (2024)