Big news! We, Aizada Amangeldy @amanai_dramand Nazgul Dolotkeldieva @nazgul_dolotkeldieva, have been selected for Munich Film Up! - one of the most competitive international programs for emerging filmmakers developing their debut feature films.

Since the summer of 2024, we’ve been working hard on our project “18th birthday” (“18 жаш”). Even back then, we knew: this story needed deep and thoughtful development.

We searched far and wide for the right platform, exploring international labs - and that’s how we found Munich Film Up! Every year, this highly selective program receives hundreds and hundreds of applications. Its alumni include A-list festival winners and graduates of the world’s top film schools.

We prepared our application with great care.
Then our project was shortlisted…
Then - the interview.

I spoke about our film, our dream, our truth, and our mission. I asked for questions to be repeated, worried that my answers were too short. But still - I moved forward with honesty and an open heart.
 

A few days later, I got the email - we were accepted into the program. Can you imagine how many projects were reviewed? And in the end - they chose US.

I called Nazgul right away - and we were literally screaming with joy on the phone! We hugged the moment from afar, as best we could. It was a victory for our faith, our hard work, our sleepless nights, and our unshakable persistence.
 

And now - we’re flying to the Cannes Film Festival to present our project “18th birthday” (“18 жаш”)!
 

To Cannes!

To that very dream that once felt so far away…

Thank you to everyone who believed in us. To each person who supported us - who gave advice, offered a kind word, or simply said: “You can do this.”
We will always remember it.
And we’ll keep moving forward.