Zhannat Alshanova is a London-based writer/director from Kazakhstan, drawn to stories of people in flux - caught between cultures, identities, and shifting narratives. Her work blends raw emotion with dry absurdity, capturing the quiet, often surreal moments when personal reinvention becomes inevitable

 

Her short films have screened at top-tier festivals including Cannes (End of Season), Sundance (Paola Makes a Wish), and TIFF (History of Civilisation), which won Locarno’s Pardo di Domani award.

 

Her debut feature, Becoming, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and went on to screen at Busan, Tallinn Black Nights (POFF), and Gothenburg, among others.

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Zhannat is currently developing several feature projects, including Etc., her first English-language film, in development with Film4 (UK), selected for TIFF Writers’ Studio 2024 and awarded a CHANEL Fellowship, and A Minor Issue, selected for LIM.

 

Zhannat is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmakers Lab, and Locarno’s Directing Workshop (mentored by Béla Tarr). She holds an MA from London Film School and is a member of BAFTA Connect and Directors UK.