Dicing with Death – Kazakhstan: Danger in the Steppe

In Kazakhstan, a country in Central Asia located between China and Russia, everything is tough: the climate, the vast steppes dotted with oil wells, even the character of the inhabitants, descendants of the Mongols and Genghis Khan who have adapted to withstand all of nature’s challenges. Filmed at the backend of winter, this film takes us into the centre of a snowstorm. Thousands of travellers find themselves caught in an enormous traffic jam, the least fortunate of whom are stuck in the mud, victims of a sudden thaw. We meet farmers and camel breeders who rely on hostile land. The Aral Sea, now completely dried out due to the overexploitation of it’s water during the Soviet period, has given place to a dessert made up of sand, salt, and dust that’s toxic to the inhabitants. On this truly extreme journey we are accompanied by endearing people who never let their struggles crush their spirit or dignity.

Full Series