May 5, 2026 10:43am PT

‘Only Heaven Knows’ Director Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva Says ICE Raids Would Have Made Film ‘Impossible’ Today, Talks Strong Wave of Kyrgyz Cinema

The director compares her country's burgeoning cinema to South Korea two decades ago as she celebrates popular screenings of the film at the Alternativa Film Festival

Rafa Sales Ross

Plus Icon

Rafa Sales Ross

Guest Contributor

Latest

‘Only Heaven Knows’ Director Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva Says ICE Raids Would Have Made Film ‘Impossible’ Today, Talks Strong Wave of Kyrgyz Cinema

1 hour ago

From ‘The Secret Agent’ to ‘The Blue Trail’ to the Future: How Recife Became Brazil’s Burgeoning Film Capital

2 weeks ago

‘Secret Agent’ Momentum and Desire to Co-Produce With Africa: 5 Takeaways From the Projeto Paradiso Talent Network National Meeting

2 weeks ago

See All

'Only Heaven Knows' Courtesy of Mitchell Arens

The nomadic Alternativa Film Festival travelled over 7,000 miles between its original launchpad of Kazakhstan and Medellín, Colombia, for its third edition. But one of the great audience successes of the festival this year came from close to its roots: Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva’s “Only Heaven Knows,” made by a majority Kyrgyz creative team and shot in Chicago.

The drama trails Mira (Malika Kanatova), a nail salon worker married to truck driver Eric (Dauren Tashkenbaev). When her husband goes missing, the young woman must uncover his tormentuous double life, including a rampant gambling addiction and piling debts to dangerous men. Speaking with Variety following the successful screenings of her film in Medellín, Karamoldoeva says the film was only possible due to the generous, united Kyrgyz community in Chicago.