That Place… / To mesto…

Credits

cast

Dana Alimjanova

Director
07/21/1993

Biography

Born in Kazakhstan. She earned a directing degree from the Korea National University of Arts in South Korea. After returning to her home country, she worked on major film projects. In 2024, she began working as a screenwriter; in 2025, she directed her debut film and served as a second-unit director on a television series. She is committed to contributing to the development of women’s cinema in Central Asia. Her ambition extends beyond personal artistic achievement to supporting and creating opportunities for women directors in her country.

Filmography

2019 / «The Last Client» / 17 min / Fiction film 2021 / «Hurt for Me» / 4 min / Music video 2023 / AYA, «Ne kerek?» / 4 min / Music video 2024 / Jarqyn / 8 min / Documentary film 2025 / «That Place…» / 29 min / Fiction film

Directors Statement

The film is based on the short story “What Is That Place Called…” by renowned Korean writer Han Din (1931–1993), whose work is closely connected to the fate of the Koryo-saram—the Korean diaspora that remained in Central Asia after the forced deportation from the Russian Far East in 1937. Today, the descendants of those displaced Koreans mostly live in cities. Only the elderly remain in villages, and very few still speak their native language. Under Soviet rule, everything that connected Koreans to their history, national culture, and roots was systematically erased. Before her death, the film’s heroine asks her daughter the most important question of her life: “The place where you are born is called a homeland. But what do you call the place where you die?” Through this question, the film raises profound and painful issues of national identity among Kazakhstani Koreans. The film brings together unique artifacts that illustrate the history of the Koryo-saram: funeral rituals; the myeongjeong – a two-meter-long red satin burial banner bearing the family name and clan of the deceased; traditional hanbok garments; and hand-painted hwatu playing cards, once found in every Koryo-saram household, distinct from those used in Korea today. The audience also hears the disappearing language of Koryo-mar, which differs significantly from modern Korean. These are fragments of a culture that has survived against all odds and is now on the verge of extinction. The film features the rare song “Longing for the Homeland,” an unofficial anthem of Koreans who endured genocide. Its author, poet Jo Myeong-Hui, was executed by Soviet authorities in 1938. Filming took place in an authentic old Korean house built in the first half of the 20th century, located in the village of Ushtobe in the Taldykorgan region – one of the historic centers of Korean settlement in Kazakhstan. “That Place…” is a tribute to the memory and dignity of the Koryo-saram, their resilience, hard work, and courage, and a time capsule preserving a disappearing culture, its traditions, and its language.