Desht-i-Kipchak. Secret Signs
A two-part documentary about Kipchak heritage, built on research and filming in several countries.
Project Overview
Desht-i-Kipchak. Secret Signs was made in 2014–2015 for the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate. It was produced by the Kazakhfilm studio with the support of the Kazakh Research Institute of Culture, headed by Andrey Khazbulatov. Filming took place in Italy, Armenia and Ukraine. The two parts deal with the history of the Kipchaks, their written heritage and the Codex Cumanicus.
Key facts
- Role
- head of the Kazakh Research Institute of Culture, the project’s partner organisation
- Production
- Kazakhfilm studio with the support of the Kazakh Research Institute of Culture
- Year
- 2015
- Format
- 2 parts × 24 minutes
- Languages
- Kazakh / Russian / English
- Filming
- Italy / Armenia / Ukraine
- Directors
- Bakhyt Kairbekov / Alexey Kamensky
- Award
- special prize of the Russian Geographical Society, XI ‘World of Knowledge’ International Film Festival, 2016
- Field
- documentary film / cultural heritage / historical research
Project Timeline
Phase 1
International
research
Filming and research were carried out in several countries linked to Kipchak history and its surviving written sources. One of the project’s key experts was Alexander Garkavets, researcher of Kipchak heritage and chief research fellow at the Institute.
Phase 2
Codex
Cumanicus
The second part is devoted to the Codex Cumanicus, one of the most important written records of the Kipchak language. The project included work on the manuscript, its restoration and the creation of an electronic version. The film also features a reconstruction of a Kipchak hymn from musical notation preserved in the codex.
Phase 3
International screenings
and an award
After its premiere in Astana in 2015 the film was shown abroad, including in the United States. In 2016 it was selected for the XI International Festival of Popular Science and Educational Films ‘World of Knowledge’ in St Petersburg and received a special prize from the Russian Geographical Society.