Top 10 most significant cultural events in Kazakhstan for 2024.

1. Hosting the V World Nomad Games in Astana aimed at promoting ethnic sports and the cultural heritage of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. The opening ceremony featured People's Artist of Kazakhstan D. Kudaybergen, around 3,000 performers, including organizations under the Ministry of Culture and regional creative teams. The World Nomad Games included a concert with stars of the Kazakhstani music scene, a parade of sports delegations, as well as horse racing, competitions in national wrestling, traditional intellectual games, martial arts, archery, and folk games.

2. Organization of the III International Festival "Comic Con Astana." "Comic Con Astana" is the largest and most popular geek festival in Central Asia, dedicated to the comic book, film, video game, anime, and other contemporary popular culture industries, which took place from July 25-28, 2024, at the International Exhibition Center "EXPO" in Astana. The event featured Hollywood celebrities, international studios, producers, popular bloggers, and professional cosplay artists.

3. Attracting around 98,000 visitors to the Kazakhstan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale of Arts "Foreigners Everywhere," which involved artists from 90 countries. The National Pavilion of Kazakhstan was presented at this prestigious exhibition with the support of the Ministry of Culture. Visitors were able to view the exhibition of the project "Jerūiyq: A Look Beyond the Horizon."

4. The solemn presentation of a special Presidential Literary Award by the head of the Ministry of Culture A. Balayeva to 75 young figures in literature and art in Almaty. The Minister awarded scholarships to writers, poets, literary scholars, playwrights, publicists, theater, film, and ballet actors, artisans, and others. During the ceremony, A. Balayeva emphasized that the Head of State pays special attention to the development and support of the cultural sector.

5. The grand ceremony for the first national award for pop performers "Әгугай" at the Palace of the Republic in Almaty. 130 performers, producers, and representatives of the art sector were invited to the ceremony. Winners were determined by public voting for domestic songs broadcast on the "First Channel Eurasia." Awards were given to both established stars of the stage and young teams and groups.

6. Launch of the informational and educational platform "Qazaq Culture," aimed at drawing global attention to the cultural heritage and diversity of Kazakhstan. This large-scale project encompasses six official UN languages, as well as Kazakh and Turkish. The information portal covers all cultural news from the country and the world, and features publications from Kazakhstan's unique archival fund. The section "Kazakhstan's Culture through the Lens of Artificial Intelligence" offers viewers a unique opportunity to explore various regions of Kazakhstan and their attractions through virtual 3D tours. The site also includes a Unified Ticket System for all cultural venues, allowing citizens to purchase tickets without expensive intermediaries.

7. The domestic horror film "Claustro" won the Best Film award at the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival. The film was shot at "Kazakhfilm" and "Qara Studios," featuring the landscapes of the Kapchagay Reservoir. The film's director Olzhas Bayalbaev noted that in recent years, Kazakh cinema has been transitioning from endless comedies to dramas, thrillers, and horror films ("Bakyt" by producer B. Alaguzova, "Qash" by director A. Seitov, "Dastur" by director K. Beysek).

8. In 2024, the release of the films "Inside Out 2," "Moana 2," and "Mufasa: The Lion King" from Disney will be presented in the Kazakh language in Kazakhstan's cinema. The dubbing was done at the Kazakh studio "Movie Dalen" under the supervision of Disney. Notably, this dubbing marks the first time these films have been translated into Kazakh with funding from Disney.

9. The signing of a memorandum between "Kazakhfilm" JSC and the international stunt company "Nomad Stunts," which represents a significant step in the development of Kazakhstan's film industry and international cinema. The memorandum promotes the popularization of Kazakh cinema, attracting foreign projects, and advancing "Kazakhfilm" in international projects.

10. The ranking of domestic films that achieved significant box office success in Kazakh cinemas: horror "Dastur" - about 1.8 billion tenge, "Zamanback" - over 1 billion tenge, comedy "Brother or Marriage 3" - 1 billion tenge, comedy "Kazakh Business in Brazil" - 795 million tenge, "Sheker: The Last Chance" - over 461 million tenge, comedy "Let's Leave Everything" - 406 million tenge, "Nurikamal" - 83.1 million tenge, and others.