The First DARS Films Expedition to Kazakhstan
In 2012, the DARS Films team travelled to Kazakhstan for the first time to produce the television series “Kazakhstan. The Heart of Eurasia.” The project became the country’s first contemporary presentation on BBC News, marking the beginning of Kazakhstan’s international nation-branding campaign.
For our studio, this was far more than another filming assignment. It became a journey defined by extraordinary people whose generosity and commitment made the project possible.
We remain deeply grateful to the team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, who supported the production at every stage. Together we arranged complex city shoots, coordinated road closures for moving camera sequences, filled an entire concert hall for one of the key scenes, and solved countless logistical challenges that rarely appear on screen but are essential to every successful production.
One particular story has become part of the history of DARS Films.
One of the film’s most important sequences required a large herd of horses galloping across the Kazakh steppe. Our crew travelled nearly one hundred kilometres from Almaty. All the equipment was in place, the cameras were ready, and the light was perfect. But the people who had promised to bring the horses never arrived.
With the sun rapidly approaching the horizon, it became clear that we were about to lose not only the light but one of the defining scenes of the entire film. Then something happened that no script could ever have imagined.
A local man approached our crew, listened to our problem and simply said:
“I have a herd. Around three hundred horses. They’re on the summer pasture now. I’ll bring them.”
To be honest, it sounded almost impossible. We thanked him, but none of us really believed it could happen. Time passed. Then the ground began to shake.
At first we saw only a cloud of dust rising above the horizon. Moments later came the thunder of hundreds of hooves. Out of the steppe emerged an enormous herd of horses, driven by a remarkably young horseman who led them directly to our location.
Those are the very images that appear in the finished film.
Today, we no longer know the name of the herd’s owner. Nor do we know the name of the young rider who arrived exactly when we needed him most. But we have never forgotten what they did.
For DARS Films, this is the true spirit of Kazakhstan. Not official ceremonies or carefully prepared presentations, but people who are willing to help complete strangers without hesitation, simply because they can.
That is the Kazakhstan we experienced during our very first expedition. And that is the Kazakhstan we wanted the world to discover.
If this story ever reaches the people who came to our rescue that day, we would like to say one thing once again:
Thank you.
Films are made by directors, cinematographers, producers and editors. Yet some of their most important contributors never appear in the credits. They are the people behind the scenes whose generosity, trust and kindness transform an ambitious idea into a story that audiences around the world continue to watch for years to come.
When Investment in a Nation Brand Is Measured in Billions of Dollars
Nation branding is often regarded as an intangible communications activity whose impact is difficult to quantify. Yet international research demonstrates the opposite: a strong nation brand has a measurable economic value.
One of the world’s leading studies in this field is the annual Brand Finance Nation Brands report, which evaluates the financial value of more than one hundred national brands.
According to Brand Finance Nation Brands 2013, Kazakhstan became one of the world’s fastest-growing nation brands. The country’s brand value increased from USD 87 billion to USD 120 billion—an increase of USD 33 billion, or 37% in a single year. Among the world’s major economies, only Türkiye recorded a higher growth rate at 41%.
The momentum continued. According to Brand Finance Nation Brands 2014, Kazakhstan’s nation brand grew by another USD 44 billion, rising from USD 120 billion to USD 164 billion, again representing 37% annual growth. As a result, Kazakhstan climbed from 48th to 44th place in the global ranking of the world’s most valuable nation brands.
Within only two years, the estimated value of Kazakhstan’s nation brand increased from USD 87 billion to USD 164 billion—a total increase of USD 77 billion.
Naturally, this remarkable achievement reflected a broad combination of economic reforms, investment policies, business development and international cooperation. However, such growth could hardly have been achieved without consistent international communications and the professional visual presentation of the country.
During this period Kazakhstan significantly strengthened its international visibility through television campaigns, documentary productions, promotional films and digital storytelling. Visual communications became an important component of shaping international perceptions of the country’s investment potential.
For DARS Films, this period remains particularly significant. The studio produced a number of international projects designed to present Kazakhstan to global audiences through leading international media platforms. We have always believed that strategic filmmaking is far more than producing attractive images—it is a communications instrument capable of shaping how investors, governments and international partners perceive a country.
No single film or communications campaign can claim responsibility for adding billions of dollars to a nation’s brand value. However, international evidence consistently demonstrates that sustainable growth in nation brand value is inseparable from professional reputation management, long-term international positioning and high-quality visual storytelling.
As countries increasingly compete for investment, technology, talent and tourism, investment in visualising a national brand should no longer be viewed as a marketing expense. It is an investment in the future value of the nation itself.