KOKPAR
Short Film

Project Type: Short Film
Project Status: Pre-Production
Director: Amira Kopeyeva
Producer: Jack Bart
Director of Photography: Nathan Oliva
Director of Photography: Mike Farday

LOGLINE

A Kazakh horseman leads the Daukey Kokpar Club as it reimagines Kokpar, a centuries-old horseback sport, navigating the tension between tradition and modernization.

SYNOPSIS

Inside the Daukey Kokpar Club in Kazakhstan, Kokpar is being reshaped in real time. What was once a chaotic nomadic game played across open land is now being trained, structured, and adjusted for a world that looks very different from the one it came from.

The club operates as a private space on the outskirts of Almaty where riders gather to practice, compete, and refine the sport. Horses are assigned to riders, training is more controlled, and the game itself is being simplified in ways meant to make it safer and more accessible. These changes are not only technical, but cultural, shifting how the sport is understood by those who play it.

At the center of the club is a horseman who returns to Kazakhstan and begins building a system around Kokpar that challenges how it has traditionally been organized. His approach focuses on structure and longevity, but it exists alongside older interpretations of the sport that are harder to change, and in some cases resistant to it.

As training sessions unfold, Kokpar becomes a physical language for this tension. Riders move through collisions, speed, and control, carrying both tradition and adaptation in the same action.

Beyond the sport itself, the film observes Kokpar as a marker of cultural identity in Kazakhstan. As global influences continue to shape everyday life, from language to lifestyle, the question of what it means to preserve tradition becomes more complex. Kokpar is not presented as something fixed, but as something being actively negotiated by the people who continue to play it.

The film stays close to the club as this process unfolds, capturing both the physical intensity of the game and the quieter uncertainty of what it is becoming.

MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Kokpar explores the evolution of cultural tradition through the lens of one of Kazakhstan’s oldest horseback sports. The film examines the tension between preservation and adaptation as the Daukey Kokpar Club reimagines Kokpar for a contemporary world. Through the experiences of riders, trainers, and club leadership, the documentary investigates how traditions survive amid modernization, globalization, and shifting generational values.

At its core, the film explores themes of tradition, cultural identity, and belonging. As Kazakhstan continues to define its post-Soviet national identity, Kokpar becomes more than a sport. It serves as a living expression of heritage and a reflection of how communities negotiate what should remain unchanged and what must evolve to survive.

The documentary also considers broader global questions: How do communities preserve traditions in rapidly changing societies? What happens when heritage must adapt to remain relevant? Through the physical spectacle of Kokpar and the intimate relationships within the Daukey Kokpar Club, the film examines how culture is actively carried forward rather than simply inherited.

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Meet The Filmmakers

Jack Bart

Producer

Jack Bart is a filmmaker working across writing, directing, and producing, graduating in 2026 with a BFA in Film & Television from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). His work spans narrative, documentary, and commercial filmmaking, with a focus on immersive, visually driven storytelling. He produced the documentary short Cornellskop, developed with a South African crew and filmed internationally. Jack is a Student Emmy nominee and is drawn to stories that explore culture, identity, and lived experiences.
Amira Kopeyeva

Director
Amira Kopeyeva is a producer and filmmaker at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), graduating in 2027. She recently produced the SCAD Acting Showcase and has worked across a range of narrative and production projects within the SCAD film program. Originally from Kazakhstan, her work is grounded in a strong cultural perspective. Kokpar serves as her thesis film, marking her transition into documentary directing with a deeply personal connection to the subject matter.
Nathan Oliva

Director of Photography
Nathan Oliva is a cinematographer and director specializing in narrative, documentary, and commercial filmmaking. He directed the documentary short Cornellskop: Freedom from Fear, which was nominated for a College Television Award and won a Southeast Student Emmy. His work has taken him across the world as a director of photography on a range of international projects, with a focus on immersive, character-driven storytelling. Nathan brings a strong visual sensibility shaped by experience in both documentary and narrative production environments.
Mike Farday

Director of Photography

Mike is a South African cinematographer based in Cape Town, focused on narrative-driven sport and documentary filmmaking. His work spans sport, branded documentary, and commercial productions, with experience shooting in a variety of environments ranging from remote landscapes to urban settings. He has worked across both camera and post-production environments, giving him a practical understanding of how footage translates through the full production pipeline.