Akzholtoy Bekbolotov – director and cinematographer, was born in 1983 in the city of Naryn, Naryn region. After graduating high school, he studied at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, TV, and Cinema. In 2007, he participated in a master class organized by the Cinema Development Fund based on the 10+ project. He studied with the masters of Kyrgyz cinema, playwriter T. Ibraimov, cinematographer A. Vidugiris, and director A. Suyundukov.
He began his cinema career as a short film director and directed films such as: “Everything Is Ok” and “Letter to Santa.” Since 2008, he has been a director at the Aitysh Film Studio. As a cameraman, he worked on films such as “Kurmanzhan Datka,” and “Shal” and as a director of photography, he worked on successful films such as “Atanyn Kereezi,” “Asman Aldynda,” and “Darak Yry.” From 2015 to 2020, he was the director of the Aitysh Public Fund. In 2018, together with his mentor, the legendary cinematographer Murat Aliyev, they co-created the film “Shambhala” directed by A. Syundukov. He is the winner of many prizes at international film festivals. Since 2020, he has headed the National Film Studio “Kyrgyzfilm,” named after T. Okeyev.