OT

Tolik has a wife and children and works as a delivery man at a bread factory. He's the only breadwinner in the family and yet his earnings aren't enough to make ends meet. He's already received two loans from the bank and has been trying to get a third one. He refuses to give up and doesn't have time for reflection. Instead he just tries harder, moving in circles as if in a hamster wheel. Matters get worse however when he learns that his teenage daughter is pregnant. Up-and-coming director Aizhan Kassymbek narrates this tragic story in colourful imagery, combining elements of soap opera and experimental film with a healthy dose of humour. Not to mention love and compassion for her main protagonist. In this, her feature film debut, Kassymbek masterfully points out the circumstances that are symptomatic of many cities in the post-Soviet region: the bleakness of life is papered over with brightly coloured fabrics and decorations and the lack of money with parties for family and neighbours that no one can actually afford, whilst outside the streets and buildings are covered in shrill advertising.