Cinephil has boarded the Dok Incubator breakout documentary River Dreams, directed by Kristina Mikhailova, which will have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in the Forum Special section (scroll down to see official poster).
The film marks a historic milestone as the first documentary from Kazakhstan ever selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. Directed by Kristina Mikhailova and produced by Dana Sabitova, the 99-minute documentary is a co-production between Kazakhstan, Switzerland and the UK.
The synopsis reads how, set along a river in Kazakhstan, River Dreams is a powerful exploration of women’s inner worlds As currents move through water and memory, women lay bare love, rage, endurance, and survival. Their voices cut through silence, transforming scars into acts of resistance. Tenderness becomes defiance. The river is both witness and refuge, a space where dreams are whispered and danger is confronted head-on. With its bold cinematic language and deeply human perspective, River Dreams embodies the Forum’s commitment to formally daring and politically resonant works.
“My film is a love-hate letter to Kazakhstan, told through a female gaze, already an act of resistance where I come from,” comments director Kristina Mikhailova. “I wanted to flood the screen with beautiful Kazakh girls: our strength, rage, pain, and tenderness, tenderness, tenderness – radical tenderness. And when I speak of radicality, I mean radical vulnerability, the courage to be painfully honest and to believe that sincerity can disarm.”
Cinephil’s involvement underscores its continued dedication to supporting distinctive female-driven documentaries with strong international voices, the company writes.
“Some films whisper. River Dreams enters like a current you can’t fight. Kristina Mikhailova’s debut feature embodies her fearless spirit, politically urgent, formally daring, and impossible to ignore,” comments co-Managing Director Suzanne Nodale.
River Dreams is produced by 24 FPS (Kazakhstan) in co-production with Mira Film, Basel (Switzerland) and Sylph Productions (United Kingdom) and was supported by Fachausschuss Film und Medienkunst Basel-Stadt und Basel-Landschaft, Succès Passage Antenne, SRG SSR and Docs up Fund.
