On October 2, 2026, the Academy hosted a literary and educational film event entitled “My Name Is Kozha: Eternal Childhood on Screen” («Менің атым Қожа: экрандағы мәңгілік балалық шақ»), dedicated to the 100th birth anniversary of the outstanding Kazakh film director Abdulla Karsakbayev.

The joint event, organized by the Kazakh National University of Arts and the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography, was held as part of the nationwide reading marathon “Kitap Oqityn Ult” (“A Nation That Reads”).

The program included a screening of the film My Name Is Kozha, a discussion with film experts, and a thematic quiz.

The special guest of the event was Kamila Alimzhanovna Gabdrashitova, PhD, film scholar and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Art Studies of the Kazakh National University of Arts. In her opening remarks, she spoke about the creative legacy of Abdulla Karsakbayev and the significance of the film My Name Is Kozha. According to the film scholar, children today can still recognize themselves in Kozha, which is why the film remains relevant decades after its release. A good director is the one who creates films that resonate with audiences and continue to speak to them years later.

After the screening, first-year students of the Art Management and Creative Art Industry educational programs prepared an engaging quiz for schoolchildren based on the film. The pupils actively participated in the discussion and answered questions about the main character and the film’s underlying themes: “Which of Kozha’s qualities would you like to have, and which would you like to change?”, “How does Kozha change from the beginning to the end of the film?”, and “What kind of student would Kozha be if he lived in 2026?”

The film event provided an opportunity to look at this well-known work from a new perspective, revisit a classic of Kazakh cinema, and discuss the themes of growing up, friendship, responsibility, and eternal childhood.

We sincerely thank Kamila Alimzhanovna Gabdrashitova for taking part in the event, for her professional insights, and for the meaningful discussion of Abdulla Karsakbayev’s creative legacy and the enduring value of his film.