During the 76th Berlinale, Filmmaker Kristina Mikailova debuted her documentary River Dreams, an illuminating study of women’s lives and struggles in a society of rigid lines, yet each character is determined to overcome the challenges.
Making a first feature documentary about women, what was the catalyst?
For me, it actually began as a post humanist attempt to hear the river. Only later did the river’s voice turn into the voice of women. The main catalyst was that I felt the greatest political power in Kazakhstan today lies with women. And I am a woman myself, so it was important for me that these two facts were acknowledged when deciding to commit to a film that would take five years of my life. For me, this was not just a thematic choice, but a deeply personal one.
What are the challenges of feminism in your country?
Feminism in Kazakhstan exists in many different forms and each of them faces different challenges. There is radical feminism, liberal feminism, Islamic feminism, these are very different movements.
If I had to generalize, I would say the main problem is feminism is highly stigmatized and very often instrumentalized by political propaganda. Opposition to feminism, so-called “traditional values”, has become one of the tools of populist rhetoric used by our government.
On a more practical level, feminism faces the same problem as any political expression in Kazakhstan: censorship and, very often, persecution. This also directly affects feminist activism. In the film, we show a feminist march that was officially permitted and gathered a huge number of people. The following year, the state banned it. Then, every year after that the restrictions on any feminist expression became stricter and stricter. Today, you can receive 15 days of arrest for a so-called “unauthorised” solo picket, a situation that increasingly resembles Russia. I remember a handmade, colorful sign at that very march that read, “Tokayev is Putin’s furniture.” Food for thought.
Are there laws or traditions hampering equality?
There are many different traditions, outdated ones and newly invented ones. I am always uncomfortable when our region is represented globally only through so-called “archaic traditions,” which then become a tool of exoticization.
Yes, there are traditions that have long outlived themselves and yet still exist, sometimes on a large scale. I believe that traditions can be adapted if there is a strong response from civil society and support from the state. Unfortunately, we do not have that.
The legislative system often tries to remain “neutral.” This so-called neutrality has very real and very deadly consequences. For example, it took several highly publicized cases of femicide, including the brutal murder of Saltanat Nukenova by her husband, a former Minister of Economy of Kazakhstan, before a law against domestic violence was even seriously considered.
The Berlinale got really political this year, should artists have a political stand?
For me, it is quite obvious that the personal is always political, and that every personal film is therefore a political film. I know my film statement is radical and political, even though that was not my original intention.
Why did you choose a certain hue to open the film?
The opening scene is in orange tones, it is an orange dream. We fly with the protagonist, accompanied by her voice-over, over completely orange mountains. She speaks about a dream in which she found herself in an entirely orange space, and for her it was frightening. That color also created a sense of anxiety for me. We worked a lot with the colorist to find the right shade with the mixture of fear and beauty.
The River Dreams was featured in The Forum Section of the 2026 Berlinale.
Screened online. Running time is 98 minutes.