Greatland is a Surreal Roller-Coaster Ride of a Fantasy Film

Trapped in a world of perpetual fun and inter-species love ruled by a universal Mother, a teenage boy crosses the forbidden frontier to save his childhood sweetheart as an absurd election and a deadly virus lead to chaos and violence. Dana tells us more about her fantasy film.

indieactivity: Dana, great to have another strong female filmmaking voice out there.  When did you kick off your career?
Dana Ziyasheva (DZ): I started writing scripts for animation and submitting them to directors at Kazakhstan’s main film studio, Kazakhfilm, when I was 12. I was imagining an end of the world where dinosaurs transformed themselves into chameleons and their stretched skin was becoming a giant screen. Understandably, no one at Kazakhfilm was interested.

Throughout the years I kept writing at nights and on weekends. When I was really down, I channelled my emotions into stories, it was therapeutic. I went through various stages of belief and disbelief in myself. I wanted to build a family and prove myself as the first Kazakh who joined the staff of the United Nations. Working on movies often seemed like a far and impossible dream.

Watch the trailer for Greatland directed by Dana Ziyasheva

---

In 2011 my script “Dragon Angel ” won the best co-production project at the Shanghai Film Festival. In 2015 my first feature movie “Defenders of Life ” came out. For three years, in the framework of the UN projects, I was helping Ngabe women in the Casona reservation in Costa Rica to find their voice and to express themselves freely using IT, radio and video equipment, and training.

We became so close and engaged in promoting local culture that at some point doña Carmen, the matriarch of the Ngabe tribe, and I just looked at each other and said: “Let’s make a movie!” I wrote a script, and my husband Igor Darbo and I decided to invest our savings in the production of the drama of three generations of Ngabe women.

We went interviewing Central American film-directors but all the candidates considered it impossible to shoot a movie in the remote indigenous reservation in less than one month. When Igor told me: “You should direct it yourself,” I just laughed. I did participate in movie productions in China and Mongolia and worked as a TV journalist and news editor in Kazakhstan, but from there to direct non-professional actors in Spanish in a marginalized rural area, that was a stretch.

---

Igor believed that together Ngabe and I could face production challenges better than any outsider we would bring in. Filming “Defenders of Life” was an adventure in itself. It was my christening by fire almost literally: during the night campfire scene at the waterfall, Ngabe actors were very scared of snakes. So in between the takes I was going around the set beating the high grass with a stick, to calm down the Ngabe.

Igor was running the sets, hiring the crew, doing local diplomacy with the tribe, a true problem solver we needed as a producer in this crazy production. But most importantly, he gave me the push I needed, to make this leap of faith into film-making.

Is this a personal movie for you? Have you had someone affected by this recent virus – or maybe another?
Dana Ziyasheva (DZ): Actually, the script of GREATLAND was written way before COVID took over the world. A fellow scriptwriter and his wife were badly affected by the virus. We were sending prayers for their recovery, it was scary. But they are out of danger now.

---

It’s a message movie- but it’s also a demonstration of amazing effects. How hard was it to make sure substance outweighed style here?

I was closely involved in the design of the visual and sound identity of GREATLAND. I have some understanding of VFX and it allowed me to convey my vision of every visual effect to digital artists. In a way, being limited by the budget was a blessing. Since I didn’t want to compromise on the quality of the visual effects, it forced me to be imaginative with solutions. That is why despite more than 300 VFX in the movie GREATLAND remains a cinema d’auteur, an arthouse movie.

How did Eric Roberts get involved?
Dana Ziyasheva (DZ): We thought that he’d be perfect as an imposing demiurge of GREATLAND’s shadow government, a mix of Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein. He found the character interesting. He had a brief phone interview with me before deciding on taking on the role. On set he invested himself in the rehearsals. I have an impression, he treated it as a theatre piece which, coming from Eric Roberts, is the highest honour and gesture of support a star of his calibre can give to an indie film-maker.

The film became a quiet sensation when you released the trailer. Did you expect it to get that kind of reaction? It must be a real testament to the strong trailer and perseverance!?

---

Of course, we hoped for a strong reaction. I wanted the trailer to blow the audience away and give a foretaste of the craziness to come. GREATLAND is polarizing and it’s a good thing. I don’t think that I’d have been able to push relentlessly for three years if I had no strong belief in this movie’s message and its relevance. Breaking the glass ceiling is not easy. The Hollywood establishment is far more open to a fake man from Kazakhstan like Borat than to a real Kazakh woman with an unusual worldview and a story to tell. I hope GREATLAND will change that.

Was it hard to cut a trailer for this film? I imagine it was difficult to decide how you should represent the film in 2 minutes?
Dana Ziyasheva (DZ): Yes, GREATLAND is a surreal roller-coaster ride. It’s full of defining concepts and stand-alone quotes, eye-popping imagery and charismatic characters. For two minutes of the trailer you surf an alpha brain wave between a day-dream and nightmare which is the reality of 2020 is turning out to be… Now imagine watching the entire movie!

GREATLAND is now available on digital from Indie Rights

---

Tell us what you think of the interview with Dana Ziyasheva. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Twitter.

Follow Dana Ziyasheva on Social Media
IMDb
LinkedIn