In Love With You

In the metropolis of Almaty, young people from throughout Kazakhstan will collide. They will inspire each other, and maybe even fall in love. This film is a love letter to that cruel, beautiful city they call home.

Enlik, a jaded young woman who has long given up on any dreams of her own, moves to Almaty to make a better life for her family back home. There, she meets Arman: a bright-eyed, cheeky aspiring musician, who offers a place to live and a job at his cotton candy stand. Arman harbors a not-so-secret crush on Enlik, though she is hesitant to entertain his affections and instead splashes water in his face every morning to get him up for work. There, she’ll take the booth while insisting Arman perform his songs to attract attention from passersby. As the pair grows closer, their connection slowly turns romantic, their love for each other entwined with the vibrant city they call home. However, cruel twists of fate threaten their dreams, feelings, and all semblances of what they thought they could rely on.

Following director Duman Yerkimbek’s acclaimed Restart, IN LOVE WITH YOU is a hit Kazakh romance that bittersweetly reminds us to love authentically and dream boldly and unapologetically, and that in an unpredictable world where gender dictates power, one of the most defiant acts for a woman is to simply live in the present.

– Zaza Nguyen