Central Asian cinema — for the world.
Steppefilms.AI is an AI platform connecting the region's film industry with international producers, distributors and investors. Structured data on films, directors, talent and locations — plus an AI agent that helps assemble crews and plan production.
5
countries in the region
300+
directors and studios
120+
verified locations
24/7
AI production agent
Catalogs
Four catalogs. One region. One AI agent.
Each section is a structured catalog the AI agent searches in real time when it plans your shoot.
Films
Festival selections, Kazakh New Wave classics and contemporary auteur cinema.
Open catalogFilmmakers
Kazakh directors, DOPs, producers and lead actors with verified credits.
Open catalogLocations
Steppes, Tian Shan, Mangystau deserts and Almaty — with permit information.
Open catalogEquipment
Cameras, lenses, stages and post — across Almaty and Astana.
Open catalogCollections
Curated picks across the Kazakh catalogue.
Pre-built shortlists the AI agent can hand you in one prompt — by location, festival, era or theme.
Shot in Mangystau
Mars-like cliffs, white chalk valleys and ancient seabeds — features and commercials that turned the Caspian west into a sci-fi backlot.
Open shortlist 9 filmsCannes & Berlinale selections from Kazakhstan
From Tulpan to Goliath — every Kazakh title that played the two A-list festivals over the last two decades.
Open shortlist 8 filmsKazakh New Wave, rediscovered
Late-Soviet classics by Omirbayev, Shinarbayev and Aprymov now restored and travelling through Cinémathèque Française and MoMA.
Open shortlist 10 directorsDebuts of the 2020s
First and second features from the new generation — Tokyo, Tribeca, San Sebastián and Karlovy Vary alumni working out of Almaty.
Open shortlist 7 filmmakersWomen directors of Kazakhstan
Documentary and fiction voices reshaping the national cinema — and ready for international co-production conversations.
Open shortlist 15 locationsPeriod-ready locations
Standing aul sets, Soviet-era apartment blocks, Silk Road madrasahs — pre-cleared for historical and biopic shoots.
Open shortlistPlatform
One gateway to the region's entire film infrastructure.
Kazakh film catalog
From Kazakh New Wave classics by Omirbayev to today's festival hits by Yerzhanov — a structured database of films, co-productions and festival history.
Talent and crewing
Verified profiles of Kazakh directors, DOPs, actors and production crews — with filmographies, festival credits and agent contacts.
Locations and permits
Mangystau cliffs, Charyn Canyon, the Tian Shan, Almaty's Soviet modernism and Astana's contemporary skyline — with permit timelines and fixers.
AI agent
Ask a producer who knows the region by heart.
Describe your project — genre, budget, schedule. The agent recommends directors and DOPs, picks locations, estimates costs by country, and explains rebates and permits.
Start a conversationYou
Need a crew for a 12-episode drama in Kazakhstan. Budget $2.5M, shooting in autumn.
Steppefilms.AI
For a drama at this scale I'd start with a local showrunner and a DOP with festival credits. Rebates of up to 30% are available via the Kazakh Film Commission. Locations: the Sary-Arka steppe, Charyn Canyon, and the historic core of Almaty. Want me to shortlist candidates?
Locations and permits
Verified locations with permit paths sorted.
Region
From the Caspian to the Pamir.
Kazakhstan
Steppes, megacities, rebates up to 30%
Available →Uzbekistan
Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva — historic architecture
Available →Kyrgyzstan
Tian Shan, alpine lakes, accessible permits
Available →