My Dear, What Have I Done to You?

On E. Ibrayev’s film «An Unknown Story»

Oh, the cry of women of all times:

«My dear, what have I done to you?!»

Marina Tsvetaeva

A spotlight snatches a couple from the darkness: Her and Him. A young man and woman. Night, alcohol, an argument. It is a tango for two, but instead of passion, there is pain. Before us are a playful Carmen and a suffering José. Then the dancers change roles: He transforms into an Othello crazed with jealousy, and She into a tender Desdemona. Only the finale of this dance remains unchanged…

Plot and Style

The psychological drama «An Unknown Story» is the feature film debut for Kyrgyz director, screenwriter, and producer Erik-Erkinbek Ibrayev. It was released in the fall of 2025. The leading roles are performed by Bibigul Aktan, a Russian actress of Kazakh origin (the same Fayka from the Russian TV series «Gromovs. House of Hope»), and Marat Amiraev, a well-known Kyrgyz theater and film actor.

The film is created in a theatrical style rare for Kyrgyz cinema and in the aesthetic of minimalism: the actors portray driving a car, going up and down in an elevator, making mobile phone calls, opening non-existent doors, uncorking imaginary bottles, and drinking invisible champagne. All scenes were filmed in a pavilion without sets, while views of the square and panoramas of the night city were added during editing using technology. Throughout the entire screen time, the actors are in a dark space. Nothing distracts from the main thing — the two characters and their relationship.

What did the use of theatrical means in «An Unknown Story» provide? Is it just an interesting technique? I think the author’s turn to the style of a related art form was a successful decision that followed logically from the specifics of the plot: only two characters (a third appears occasionally), a limited space, and all the meaning is carried by dialogues and actions. Although such a move (probably) eased the organization of the shoot, it also created difficulties for the director in terms of holding the audience’s attention. The directorial vision, talented acting, and skillful teamwork prevented the film from sliding into the genre of a radio play. The change of shots, the work with sound and light, and the editing — all of this creates the full atmosphere of the film’s universe in which the tragedy unfolds. The surrounding, enveloping darkness becomes a symbol of the gloom and hopelessness of their relationship; a shroud of silence hiding the » skeletons in the closet»

The film presents two sequentially shown versions of events, from the beginning of the spouses’ quarrel in the square to the resolution in His hotel the next day. In the first version, a flightly, dissolute woman with a revealing neckline, jealous of her calm and refined husband, starts a scandal. During it, unable to stand on her feet because of the alcohol, she falls a couple of times in the restroom, hitting the toilet and the floor. According to the second version, the instigator of the quarrel was an aggressive, jealous man. He got drunk and tormented his wife all night long.

Analogy with Reality

Names are never mentioned in the film, and an opening caption on the screen warns that any coincidences with reality are accidental. Incidentally, in the film’s title, the parts of the adjective «Un» and «known» are emphasized separately, perhaps to stress that this is not that story known to everyone, but a completely different one.

However, I will still recall a notorious real-life incident that immediately brings analogies to mind: the murder of Saltanat Nukenova in Kazakhstan by her husband Kuandyk Bishimbayev in the fall of 2023. The point is that the essence of Erik-Erkinbek Ibrayev’s film is that one incident can be described differently by different parties, and society needs to uncover the truth before drawing conclusions. Thus, in the situation with Nukenova’s death, two versions existed: first, Bishimbayev’s testimony; and second, video evidence, including recordings from the defendant’s own phone, which no one knew about until the judge looked into the mobile device’s gallery. These recordings confirmed the abuse to which the man subjected the woman throughout the night.

Victim-blaming is a common phenomenon in conservative, patriarchal Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Before the trial began, accusations were directed at the deceased herself, and only toward its end, after studying the materials and witness testimonies, did the opinion of the jurors and ordinary people change. This shift represents an incredible drama. There were even conspiracy theories about some kind of staged production and similarities to the Korean TV series «Penthouse.» But this is life, in which a person actually died.

Every unhappy family, as Tolstoy wrote, is unhappy in its own way. Every murder has its own circumstances. Sometimes it is an accident, self-defense, or a loss of control, and at other times — a deliberate, cold-blooded crime. Before the broadcasts of the trial of Bishimbayev and his relative began, with my tendency to believe the best in people, I allowed for the possibility of a «a state of temporary insanity.» But in the videos from the courtroom, I saw not a grief-stricken man full of remorse and self-hatred, but a calm individual, speaking in an ingratiating tone about his allegedly mentally unstable wife; about how he didn’t hit her, but that she hit the toilet herself.

Some were deceived by his refined appearance and sweet voice. Indeed, I do not know his true inner feelings, but based on outward signs, it seemed: this is not love. Because I do not understand how a loving person can admit that, while tormenting his spouse, he «tried not to hit vital organs, aiming for the non-vital ones»…

Why did many people in Kyrgyzstan follow this trial in another country? Because our states are neighbors, our peoples are close, and we are interested in each other’s news. Furthermore, social media algorithms show us videos from both countries. And we all saw the appeals from the deceased’s brother demanding justice. Initially, the resonance of the case was explained by Bishimbayev’s fame (a «Bolashak» program graduate, former minister, a Nazarbayev-era official) and certain unusual circumstances. But very soon, the sheer horror of the violence and the personality of the woman herself began to come to the forefront.

It is precisely this wide coverage of the case that could have worked against «An Unknown Story»: after all, the audience assumes that this is that very same incident, the finale of which is already clear. On the other hand, it is interesting to see how the events were recreated on screen and what the author’s message is: does he sympathize with the deceased or the aggressor?

But this is not that known story; it is a completely different one. It is an exquisite and laconic film about relationships in many unions, in which the director allows the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

And even if it were that story, the picture is worth watching for the talented acting and an artistic solution that is new to Kyrgyzstan. As for the author’s position — it lies in the very act of addressing such an important topic. This is a successful debut, and I look forward to new works from Ibrayev.

Aliia MOLDALIEVA, 2026

Film Information

• Year and Country of Production: 2025, Kyrgyzstan
• Genre: Psychological drama
• Director and Screenwriter: Erik-Erkinbek Ibrayev
• Producers: Konstantin Shubin, Erlan Bekkhozhin, Erik-Erkinbek Ibrayev, Marat Amiraev
• Executive Producer: Aiken Kuatbaeva
• Director of Photography: Maksim Zadarnovsky
• Composer: Taalay Beisheev
• Sound Designer: Ilya Korobeynik
• Running Time: 64 min
• Age Rating: 18+
• Language: Russian, dubbed into Kyrgyz
• Starring: Marat Amiraev, Bibigul Aktan, Anvar Osmonaliev.