Today, the RIA Kalmykia press center hosted a briefing with the director of the short film “Goodbye, Kalmyk Land” Arltan Bembeyev and actor Sanji Chaliev. At the meeting, the director shared the process of making the film, from the idea to the premiere. According to Arltan, he was inspired to shoot by the painting of his father, the honored artist of Kalmykia, Grigory Bembeyev. While writing the script, the director was reading research papers on deportation and noted that many tragic stories could form the basis of short and full-length dramatic films. For his film, he chose the most generalized and widespread image of a family and a soldier. “A simple story that could happen to any Kalmyk family, we didn’t show anything supernatural,” is how the director described his film. Arltan talked about how the casting took place, noting that it was his first experience in holding such events. Many people auditioned for the roles, and actors from the National Theater took part in the film. The problems, according to the director, were finding clothes and filming locations – barracks and dugouts. The film crew asked for clothes at the national and Russian theaters of the republic, some people brought historical items of those times for the actors themselves. The filming locations were chosen for the barracks along Nomto-Ochirova Street and a dugout built in 1938 in the village of Troitskoye. The director said that they searched for the dugout for a very long time, they did not find anything suitable in Elista, and they accidentally saw an interesting option while driving past Troitsky. “The film was shot not so long ago, the budget was my personal funds and donations from caring people on social networks. If the opportunity arises, I would be happy to make a full—length film about it,” said Arltan Bembeev. The premiere of the film will take place tomorrow at 12 o’clock at the Rodina Cultural Center. The entrance for the audience is free.

Source: https://riakalm.ru/index.php/news/news/21587-v-eliste-projdet-pokaz-filma-o-deportatsii-kalmykov