We had the good fortune of connecting with Ablay Nurmanbetov and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ablay, how do you think about risk?
The more you take risks the more you get a payoff. I can call myself a risk-taker since changing my major from civil engineering to screenwriting. I didn’t realize how hard and painful that path would be, but it was worth it, and still, it is. By taking this risk, I graduated from college in Houston, went to Los Angeles, got new friends from the cinema industry. I remember shooting my first short movie (“The Burning Blue”) that participated in 40 festivals and won 16 awards around the globe. I remember going back to Kazakhstan where I wrote the feature movie debut (“QASH”) and it is because of the aforementioned risk.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Every movie starts from a blank page. My job is to fill in around one hundred twenty of them until it becomes a movie. Recently, I have finished writing my feature movie debut “QASH” directed by acclaimed Aisultan Seitov. The movie will be released in 2022, which, I am sure, will be an international success. I couldn’t imagine something like that happened to me while I was studying film-making in Houston five years ago. Back then, I would shoot short student movies for my class assignments, read dozens of books about film-making, learn on my mistakes while filming a scene, cry at the bed when thinking that giving in civil engineering had been a mistake. Therefore, I took a real good lesson from it: “Stick to what you believe in and never abandon your dream”. Hopefully, through my scripts and movies people will learn something that can enlight them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First of all, I would like to say that I am in love with Los Angeles. It is the city of any cinephile and movie lover. There are so many spots to go to that I still explore. My top places are Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Paramount, LACMA and Getty Museums. Also, I like walking on Malibu and Manhattan Beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to thank all of my friends and my family. Your support and love mean world to me.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ablay_nurmanbetov/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ablay.nurmanbetov

Other: https://vimeo.com/544370449 – The Burning Blue short movie

Image Credits
Alexey Gaev

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.