Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Assel Omirserik. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Assel, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I am a film director, producer from Kazakhstan, based in LA

Assel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Mission Statement of Assel Omirserik Why do I want to be a director?
Like a lot of people on this planet earth, I have dreams and wishes to change this world to the better. I want to leave this place knowing that it became a little bit better, because I was here. There are many ways to change and challenge the world. And I, personally, believe in the power of stories, in power of words my characters will say, in influence of powerful actions my characters will do and in the right example they will set for millions and millions of viewers. Aside from that, as a former journalist, I am convinced that anyone worthy, has an amazing story to share. Starting from the people who have built nations, till the most ordinary people, who do simplest stuff everyday like us, we all have untold stories, which could move people.

I want to inspire people, I want to exploit their feelings when it’s needed, cuz my generation unfortunately cares about Selena Gomez vs Hailey Bieber drama more than about real problems humanity still faces today: whether it’s an ecological issues, dictatorship, or wars, or human trafficking or any other serious, but “boring” stuff. Reality is ugly, caring about stuff is boring. Why bother sending money to Yemen, to starving kids, when you can order those new wigs on Amazon and get more likes? Well, I may sound really disappointed with today’s youth, actually I am not. I don’t judge people for not caring about things which are happening thousands of miles away from them, they don’t see those struggles everyday, so they don’t think of it. And someone might argue that nobody owes anyone anything. But people who actually care, who don’t skip newsletter to watch another tik tok dance, people who know the history of events know – nations owe other nations, some countries ARE responsible for the sufferings of certain countries, and maybe the least they could do is to “admit” it, and try to help in any scale possible. This will sound insane, but in order to show real heroes from real life, and prove people that there still are people who are humane, you got to show really ugly things happening nowadays.

I want to make people feel. A lot of things. Although I find it very egocentric to ignore real world problems, I believe that sometimes feel good movies are needed like oxygen. When I used to work full time office jobs and lived in a city on my own, I faced adulthood for the first time, and I remember that on the weekends feel good romcoms would be the only thing which would cheer me up. I want to be able to do the same for other people. Make their worries and problems disappear for 2 hours and plant some seeds of hope for the better days in the left side of their chest.

Painting, sculpture, Literature, Architecture, Cinema, Music, Theater. These are 7 essential art forms. And all of them in their core tell a story. We tells stories all the time. That’s how we learn to perceive the world, when our parents tell us stories before bed. When we talk to our loved ones during dinner – we tell a story. Whole human communication boils down to it. Humankind learned telling stories by the fire, even before they could write or cook proper food. Cause stories reveal to us how fascinating life can be, has been to other people, or would’ve been if certain things were true. I think being a director is – making people feel something, changing whole agenda of the entire generation in 2 hours inside the dark room, showing what people are capable of doing to young people, teaching how valuable every member of the society is to minorities, reuniting with the history and legacy of your ancestors, speaking of important issues in the ways BBC could never do, uniting people by showing contrary groups different perspectives of their so said enemies. That’s what kind of director I want to be. That’s what kind of stories I want to make. Honestly, this statement might sound like an extended version of Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad. But these things are what I actually think.

I am a girl who came to the US alone from a third world country to study films and pursue my dreams. I am a child of a historically traumatized nation, with a very proud, but very hurtful past. And compared to people who were born with opportunities and freedom, we were not always served one. So when I say I want to become a director with a message, I mean it. I deeply feel and root for everyone and every group, which was not treated fairly. Cuz I come from one. I don’t take moviemaking for granted, and I hope that one day my story too will become an inspiring tale to tell.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have worked in corporate world after finishing my bachelor’s degree, and I felt really lost in that field. I felt like what I was doing was meaningless, and I didn’t see any purpose of my work except for my paycheck. I was very depressed while working at the big corporations. And I was doing small steps towards my dream of becoming a film director, I was using my salary to apply to schools and scholarships, and I was trying to get out of that office job loop – in my free time by applying and getting my portfolio together.

Thanks God I got the scholarship and had a chance to pivot my career path

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

When I worked as a marketer in Lexus, I completed many courses in marketing, and I learned a lot about how business works from books and from implementing marketing strategies in practice. And those years gave me vivid understanding of how sales funnel works, how people buy products and how people interact with media products.

That basic understanding of business operations helped me to adjust to film producing very easily

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bndsselyan?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/assel-omirserik-aa4a12225
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@asselnurlankyzy

Image Credits
Gabriel Acosta John Soto