Tolqyn Film Fund OEIC Ltd., the first private film investment fund in Kazakhstan, managed by Dasco Capital, held a meeting in Almaty with the country’s leading film producers. The Fund invited creative teams to cooperate and expressed its readiness to select scripts with high commercial potential and invest up to 100% in their production.
As emphasized by Darmen Sadvakassov, CEO of Dasco Capital, “The mission of Tolqyn Film Fund is to launch a Kazakh creative wave with the potential to enter export markets. As a professional management company licensed by the AIFC, we apply the best international practices in investing in and promoting films both domestically and internationally, helping filmmakers address key challenges. We are confident that through private initiatives, Kazakh cinema and the entire creative industry will become a commercially successful, structured, and transparent business that positively impacts economic development and strengthens social values.”
Ernar Kurmashev, CEO of Tolqyn Film Fund, noted: “Through the work of our Fund, investors should see that Kazakhstan is producing creative content that is both commercially successful and socially valuable. Currently, ‘Dästur: Teris Bata’ is in theatrical release – the first film not only in Kazakhstan but in the entire CIS to be produced with venture capital investment. It resulted in a high-quality film in a genre that is new to Kazakhstan. Our new projects, ‘Baiqa! Alayaq!’ and ‘7 Qaraqshy’ are currently in post-production and are already receiving enthusiastic feedback from initial focus group screenings. Today, we are also starting production on the folk action film ‘Shymyr’ – something unprecedented in our national cinema. And this is only the beginning. Therefore, we invite the best creative teams to collaborate in creating high-quality content that is in demand among a wide audience. Together, we can take Kazakh cinema to a fundamentally new level.”
During the discussions, participants also addressed the Fund’s activities and current performance, the distribution and theatrical release of domestic films in local and international markets, as well as opportunities and prospects for the industry.
Tolqyn Film Fund was registered on the AIFC platform in January 2025 to invest in the production of full-length feature films and animation with high commercial potential. The Fund is backed by institutional investors such as Halyk Finance, Teniz Capital, Frame Capital, and others. Film distribution is handled by Ascar Cinema (Meloman Entertainment), a leading film distributor across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
To date, the Fund has invested in four film projects: the horror film “Dästur: Teris Bata” directed by Alisher Utev (released on December 25), the large-scale action film “7 Qaraqshy” by Kuanysh Beisek (premiere scheduled for April 2026), the detective comedy “Baiqa! Alayaq!” by Darkhan Sarkenov (announced for March 19), and the folk action film “Shymyr” directed by Anvar Matzhanov (scheduled for release on May 7). The Fund has already received 120 applications from 12 countries, including Kazakhstan, as well as countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.
The selection process for financing film projects at Tolqyn Film Fund consists of three main stages. The first stage involves collecting applications and forming a shortlist by the Fund’s team. Materials – including a general presentation of the film or animation project, a completed screenplay, a financial plan with budget estimates, and a marketing strategy – should be submitted to tolqyn@dasco.kz (starting from February, via the website tolqyn.kz). The second stage is the review of shortlisted projects at an Advisory Board meeting. Advisory Board members listen to presentations by creative teams, vote on each film, and recommend selected projects to the Fund’s Investment Committee. The third stage is the final decision by the Fund’s Investment Committee regarding investment in film projects.
Overall, over the next two years, Tolqyn plans to invest in a portfolio of 15–19 film projects. This diversified model helps reduce investor risk, avoids dependence on the box office performance of a single film, and allows for more accurate revenue forecasting. Additional advantages include adequate project budgets achieved by pooling investments from multiple investors, the AIFC ecosystem, investor protection through strict control mechanisms, and transparency in financial operations.
