Meet Bakyt Zhumadilova | Film Producer and Content Creator

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

Hi Bakyt, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Me coming from a Muslim family and being a girl from a Southern- Kazakh family impacted my current social and political views and my artistic choices and style. I love my family and country a lot, but Kazakh society is very sexist and has many outdated traditions. Growing I felt small because of it, I was told many times that my main purpose in life is to be a mother and a wife. Then one day, I watched amazing female-led movies, strong ambitious female protagonists, and helped me believe in myself, it helped me to realize that my gender does not lessen my abilities and my power. And that is exactly what kind of impact I want to have on young girls and boys through my films. I truly believe movies have that power.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a storyteller. I tell stories of my people and of my culture. When I was younger, I used to think that I am unfortunate to be born Kazakh, but now I realize that I have such a unique voice: Russian-speaking Muslim Asian woman from a third world country. And this is the story I want to tell. The story that has never been told before, story Americans have not heard, a story the world needs. With my short film “No Voice” that’s what I and my Kazakh filmmaker friends tried to achieve. Of course it no easy task and definitely many many challenges.
I used to believe that I have to know myself before I can tell my stories and spent a lot of time figuring myself out. However, later I realized I have to tell my stories in order to figure out myself.
The biggest issue I face a lot when I’m in Hollywood is it is not ready for Kazakh stories. Unfortunately, not many people are interested or they don’t even know they want to be interested because they have never heard. So for me It takes longer to get my story on papers bring to the screens. But I am not giving up anytime soon

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The biggest shoutout without a doubt goes to my parents who support me unconditionally. My vision, my perspective, and my goals on almost everything differ greatly, however they have been supporting me and believing in my vision, even though I moved from them thousand miles to the other side of the ocean. My parents are motivators for me, and I know I will make a movie about them in my career. Another shoutout I cannot skip on mentioning is the film “Mona Lisa’s Smile”. I think I found this film when I found about 14 or 15, and this was the first film dominantly with women characters, sharing women’s stories and sharing the most important message: you can be whoever you want, you can do whatever you want, you have a choice.

Website: www.BakytZ.com

Instagram: @xoxobakyt

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bakyt-zhumadilova/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xoxobakyt/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BakytZhumadilova

Other: IMDb – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10492113/