Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zhanerke Koilybayeva. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Zhanerke thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
Because of the level of my English, I see that people lose interest as soon as I open my mouth. And I can’t even give them my scripts to read because I see they have no interest already.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Zhanerke Koilybayeva. I am 31 years old. I am soon to graduate from film school as a screenwriter. It was difficult for me to go to school when I was already 30.I come from a culture where women have to get married by 25 and have two children by 30. And it was really difficult for me to break up stereotypes in my head and go after my dreams. I always wanted to write. With my stories, I really want to change people’s minds. I want everybody to do what they want and be whoever they want to be. Because happiness is in the things that you create and that you share with the world.Recently, I wrote and directed a web series about friendship and curses. You can watch it on my YouTube channel.
LOGLINE: a group of friends, devoted to unmasking haunted places, find a symbol that tattoos on the forearm rotting them to death.
OVERVIEW:
A group of four friends (Peter, Giselle, Rick and Tony) have a youtube channel devoted to playing flash tag on haunted or abandoned places in order to tell people about ghosts. They discover a Witch’s Mark that gets tattooed to their forearm causing them to slowly rot as if they were being burnt to death. Friends must find out who the witch was and why she did it in a town where nobody wants to speak about that, the time is ticking and the truth slowly uncovers.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most important thing is to be part of a society of creators. It means to always go networking. Not just to get the job for yourself. No, just to find creative people and make friendships with them. It is not to gain something from each other, but just sit and start doing TikTok or write something together. Something that wouldn’t exactly bring your money. Just find confederates for yourself. It will bring you a lot of benefits in the future.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was in my home office at pandemic time. I had a thought: Why am I a beautiful person sitting and earning money for someone who gives me a salary? I decided I couldn’t wait anymore. The time was very scary. What if I die tomorrow? I decided to change my life, go after my dreams, and start working in the film industry. I started working in the film industry in Kazazkhstan, and little by little, it led me to Hollywood.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zhanerke_screenwriter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chanel.koil
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhanerke-koilybayeva-756861261/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Z_screenwriter
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/ez0ZHD3DjVk?si=fxRDa0B-ExEqGhPn
Image Credits
Kushagra Jain