Two couples, one Russian and one Kazakh, live side by side in relative harmony in a beautiful yet semi-desolate region of the Great Steppe. But when the fair-skinned Russians give birth to a boy of decidedly darker skin, fifteen years of suspicion and acrimony arises between them, and can only be resolved by an ironic twist of family and fate.

At times darkly somber, at other times tender and wistful—and buoyed throughout by a soundtrack of folk-inspired melodies—writer-director Marat Sarulu draws on Kazakhstan’s epic history to create a gritty and deeply compassionate tale of humor and cultural insight.

“My story is a reflection upon issues created by our cultural and ethnical sense of belonging. The inside logic of the story drove me to realise that any form of classification is a childish and dangerous illusion that will lead one to fear, hostility and oppression. The modern world has now exploded into conflicting components disguised behind the fictitious slogans of tolerance and political correctness.

“I believe that the ideas and the problems mentioned in the script stand out in an even sharper way upon this background of angst. Men all belong to the same race, to the same family, and this is the outcome of my characters’ personal quest.” –Marat Sarulu

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: MARAT SARULU
Marat Sarulu was born in Talas, Soviet Union (now Kyrgyzstan) in 1957. He graduated with a degree in Philology from Kyrgyz National University in Bishkek in 1980 and subsequently studied at the Moscow Cinema Academy. He is co-writer of the internationally successful feature film, Beshkempir and currently works as a writer and director. Song from the Southern Seas is his third feature film.