Kazakh The Owners film enters Toronto Film Festival program

Kazakhstani movie The Owners directed by Adilkhan Yerzhanov has entered one of the programs of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Canada, Tengrinews reports.

The Owners movie is in the lineup of the Contemporary World Cinema program, which features films from 42 different countries focusing on non-English language art-house movies that may not receive a wide release elsewhere.

The film draws an absurd yet dramatic picture of two families fighting over a house. Two brothers who have a sickly little sister and the mother insane with grief on their hands are being evicted from their house by a local villager and his relative, a district policeman. But the brothers, despite of not having any relatives to protect them, are not willing to leave the house without a fight.

The film was shot in Almaty Oblast. Young graduates of the Zhurgenov Arts Academy played the main characters in the film. Olga Khlascheva and Serik Abishev were the produces of The Owners.

Yerzhanov’s film got into the Official Selection of the Cannes Festival and premiered in the Special Screenings of the 67th Cannes Film Festival.

Here is the trailer of the Owners.

The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival will be held on September 4 to 14, 2014 in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1976, the Festival is now one of the most prestigious events of its kind in the world.

Given that TIFF lacks a jury and is non-competitive, there are no regular awards handed out there like those awarded at other festivals for categories such as Best Actress or Best Film. The only major prize is the People's Choice Award given to a feature-length film with the highest ratings as voted by the festival's audience.

The Festival in Toronto is also one of the events generating Oscar buzz, as Oscar's selection committee looks at all the movies presented in the Canadian festival.

By Assel Satubaldina