Un Certain Regard: “Tulpan” by Sergey Dvortsevoy

As director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s film Tulpan, selected by Un Certain Regard, is a debut feature, it is eligible for the Caméra d’Or. It takes us to the Kazakh steppe to watch what becomes of Asa, a young sailor just discharged from military service. He is eager to start a new life as a shepherd, like his sister and her husband, but first, he too must marry. However, the only possible future wife on the sparsely populated steppe is Tulpan, and she finds him unappealing.

Sergey Dvortsevoy recalls the difficult filming conditions: “It’s very difficult for the crew to be put in such a remote place for such a long time. Nature is also tough. Not only the weather, but the animals. There are all sorts of insects, poisonous snakes and spiders, especially around May in the springtime when they wake up. We found spiders in our shoes every day. But the most difficult was the way we shot the film as it took much time and patience from the crew.”