Living Someone Else's Life to Understand Your Own

So Close, Yet So Far: Conversations with Yakutia's Filmmakers

Turkic culture extends far beyond the way it is often perceived in Central Asia. One striking example is the Republic of Sakha, better known as Yakutia, whose Sakha people share many traditions, linguistic roots and legends with the Turkic peoples of Central Asia. Today, Yakut cinema is winning audiences around the world. Its films enjoy wide theatrical releases, while its directors and producers are negotiating co-productions with some of the world's leading studios. We spoke to Sakha filmmakers Innokenty Khandy, Apollinaria Degtyaryova and Illarion Yakovlev about why cultural identity matters in cinema, and why, in this industry, people matter more than money.