Nyshanbek Zhubanaev

For Mukha and Bob, childhood is over. Now they find themselves on opposite sides of the bars: one is planning an escape, while the other is forced to cover for him. The two friends must make a difficult choice between their conscience and the unwritten rules of the criminal underworld, because their decision will determine which of them walks free and which remains a prisoner of the past.

Kuanysh, who is about to enroll at an American university, is the pride of his single mother, Dinara. Divorced when Kuanysh was young, Dinara has devoted herself to caring for her son, but as a teenager he has a world his mother is not privy to. One day, Kuanysh goes to a club with his friends and becomes involved in an assault incident, which turns into a homicide when the victim dies during the investigation. The wealthy and influential parents of Kuanysh’s friends attempt to make him the culprit, and now Dinara must protect her son by her own means.

Kazakhstan, January 2022. Protests are shaking the entire country. Five ordinary people become caught up in these events and face difficult life choices. Their stories come together, showing how one person’s drama turns into a national tragedy.

A desperate clerk robs the bank where he works at.

This is the story of a young woman, Aiganym, who was born into the Orthodox Kazakh family from the South of Kazakhstan. When she was a student at the college in the capital city of Kazakhstan, she gave birth to a boy. Right after giving birth, her family cursed her and rejected her and her newborn son because she was a single mother. After seven years, Timur, her son, was not able to accomplish his homework assignment “to draw a family tree”. Aiganym decides to return to her parents’ house, so that her son has a big family. Regardless of the fact that each time, she wants to return, her eldest brother beats her up, she keeps on returning home again and again…

A cynical surgeon, Sagat, who values money above all else, refuses to perform an urgent operation on a destitute patient. After that, his life speeds up: days pass like years, and everything starts to change for the worse.

«18 Kilohertz» refers to a sound frequency that adults cannot hear. The film focuses on the realities which faced teenagers in Kazakhstan in the late 90s, at the time of the drug boom in Almaty. It tackles one side of the conflict between the child and his parents leading to his alienation and flight from home. What makes the teenager prefer romantic asphalt streets to the cozy parental home?

The film tells the story of a young athlete, Adai, who dreamed of fighting in big arenas. Due to the choice of the wrong environment, he falls under the influence of narcotic substances, although it all started with a simple try. Adai shows the price of a mistake and how far he can be from his dream. By his example, he instills in the viewer a sense of perseverance, showing how to go to goals, no matter what.