A mystical legend, the events of which could unfold once at the foot of Elbrus, presented today Magomed Kumykov in the second part of the project “Mingi Tau: Winter”
For many hundreds of years people have been living at the foot of the "Eternal Mountain", "Mountain of Happiness", better known as the Great Elbrus, or in Balkar - Mingi Tau. How many stories and lives passed along its slopes, how many people and destinies he saw. Only a few testimonies of the past have survived to this day, but the spirit that reigns in the land of the two-headed old man still inspires his neighbors, whispering the stories of the ancestors with the cold wind.
The inspiration of the Elbrus lands could not bypass the creators from Kabardino-Balkaria, and today viewers will be able to see the second film from the Mingi Tau cycle - Winter, directed by Magomed Kumykov. Inspired by the music of the young, but already well-known composer Akhmat Malkanduev, Magomed recreated several of those stories that the stately Mingi Tau could witness silently.
The second film of the project is “Winter”. The main roles were played by: Asiyat Lokyayeva, Nyurmukhamat Elekuev, Renat Gonibov and, of course, a charming wolf cub named Weilr.
About how the shooting took place, we were told by the director Magomed Kumykov.
How did you get the idea to make a mini-film at the Symphony?
“The young composer Akhmat Malkanduyev wrote the Mingi Tau Symphony in four parts within the walls of the Saratov Conservatory. There she made a splash, but Akhmat really wanted to bring her to his native Kabardino-Balkaria. The crowded state concert hall standing ovation applauded the symphony orchestra of the Saratov Conservatory, which Akhmat brought in its entirety, which is more than 60 people. It was at that concert, with the filing of the head of the press service of the Elbrus region Alisa Tarim, that the idea of an adaptation of the first part of this wonderful symphony was born. A month later, I started shooting, but writing the script was very difficult. I wanted to play a phantasmagoric story on the slopes of the majestic Elbrus.
And we got a musical epic, where good, of course, defeats evil. The film "Mingi Tau" was noted at film festivals and was an audience success.
If I wrote the script for the first part myself, then Mingi Tau Zima is already my creative tandem with the young and talented screenwriter Islam Guzoev. The operator, as in the first film, was Murat Dzuev, and the editor was the permanent Mikhail Taov. "
When and how did you start work on the second film?
“A year later, with the filing of the main characters Nyurmukhamat Elekuev and Asiyat Lokyaeva, it was decided to shoot the film for the second part of the symphony.
The second part, like the first, was filmed in the Elbrus region. If the first story turned out to be quite large-scale, then the second is a classic triangle. Where two men vie for the heart of a lovely stranger. But the stranger is not easy! "
How was the shooting of the second part of the Symphony? What difficulties did you encounter?
“The actors had to accurately convey the spirit of the time, both through plastic and through costumes.
I had to sweat and with a top named Weylr. He constantly strove to lick the main character in the nose and continue to run around the neighborhood in search of prey. Only after running into the fabulous open spaces of the Baksan Gorge, could he “work”.
We shot the second part in a hunting lodge, kindly provided to us by the Olmezov family. Only having made a multi-kilometer march along the Terskol Gorge, we learned that the generator remained in “civilization”. There was neither strength nor time to follow him.
Believe it or not, all the light on the set is the light of 5 headlamps. And saving the battery charge of the camera made me think over all takes even more carefully in advance.
Our designer and part-time negative character of the film Renat Gonibov, even in such conditions created coziness: he drowned the stove, cooked food, in general, paid off for his role as a “villain”.
Two parts have already been released, but how much is planned? What is the fate of the project?
“2 parts of the symphony were screened, but it consists of 4. The plans are to remove the remaining two and name this saga“ Elbrus. Seasons"
Symphony of Mingi Tau ”is the diploma work of the composer Akhmat Malkanduev. Consisting of four parts, it tells the audience the stories of the times long forgotten and only to come, those that flow at the foot of the majestic Elbrus. "
“The idea to devote a two-headed grief symphony came about in the making. As a result, it took about a year and a half. In the symphony, I write about the greatness, inhuman strength and the unprecedented beauty of my native land. This is a “piece of my house”, so to speak, since I come home quite rarely and often get bored, ”says Akhmat.
The first part of the project premiered on December 27, 2018 in Tyrnyauz (KBR). She tells a beautiful but complex story that happened one summer day at the foot of Elbrus. If you have not had a chance to see her, then it's time to fix it!
