Alternativa, in partnership with IDEA Central Asia and Teach for Kyrgyzstan, are launching Film Talks, a new educational initiative for schoolchildren in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The project’s creators announced.
Teenagers will be offered film lessons designed to develop critical thinking, empathy, and spark interest in social issues and community engagement.
The project invites all interested teachers to participate and provides them with the necessary materials and support free of charge. The pilot phase of Film Talks has begun: the first teachers have been trained and have begun holding film lessons in their classrooms.
The project is expected to reach at least 1,000 teenagers in both countries by 2026.
About Film Talks
Film Talks are designed for teenagers aged 14-18, including students from socially vulnerable groups. Each educational module includes a short film and assignments related to the topic.
The lesson focuses on social and ethical issues important to adolescents: bullying, gender inequality, environmental issues, separation from family, and intergenerational dialogue.
The project’s goal is to create a space for safe and respectful discussion, where adolescents can reflect, express themselves, and learn to see different perspectives.
The first series of lessons is based on short fiction and animated films created by teenagers from Central Asia—participants of the Alternativa Teen Lab film labs in Tashkent and Bishkek, led by screenwriter and director Lena Vanina and director Kirill Kulagin (The Moon Shows the Way, Tomorrow Will Snow, Next Stop), as well as students of Dante Rustav, director, curator of the Alternativa Teen Lab, and program director of the Tashkent International Animation Festival TIAF (Voices of the Mountains, Moments, Because I’m a Girl).
Teacher support
The project is open to teachers from schools, lyceums, and colleges in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan interested in modern teaching formats. They receive toolkits—sets of materials for preparing and delivering lessons, including a lesson plan, detailed instructions, handouts, and homework cards. A variety of assignments—individual, group, discussion, reflective, and creative—helps engage students.
In September, Alternativa and IDEA Central Asia held an open call for teachers and received 89 applications (60 from Kyrgyzstan and 29 from Kazakhstan) from large cities, district centers, and villages. Most of the applicants were humanities teachers.
Following the open call, in early November, teachers from 40 schools in both countries completed two-day trainings in Almaty and Bishkek. By the end of the year, they will pilot the lessons, and the project team will collect feedback to refine the program.
- IDEA Central Asia is an organization that professionally supports young people in promoting their ideas and interests. It has been working in the field of interactive education, youth activism, public discussions, and debates for over 12 years.
- Alternativa is an international non-profit project launched by the global technology company inDrive. It was created to support and promote filmmakers from the Global South whose films have the potential to change the world for the better. Alternativa’s mission is to help impact filmmakers gain international recognition and present their work to a broad and diverse audience.
