The Kumshagal Story

One cannot find the settlement of Kumshagali on the map of the Dzhambul District but actually it does exist. It even has an anniversary to celebrate: in 1957 - 25 years ago - a railway station was built by the Dzhambul Department of Railways and immediately the workers moved in a settlement-on-wheels. 32 Railway workers' families now live in written-off wagons. How do they live? The same way as we do: they work, visit each other, marry, and they educate their children. The difference is that their homes are wagons and that their children play along the railway tracks. The prospect of having their own dwellings is still far away; some of them have already retired. "Why do others have better lives than we do?", asks 16 year-old Natasha, the main character of this film. We observe life in Kumshagali through her eyes. The inhabitants of the wagons do not require anything special apart from some basic needs like fuel, paint, etc., but still they never get them. However, this film is not about dwelling problems or, to be more precise, not only about them. The film is about ignorance. Ignorance of those who have an official post, deputies who have the human duty to investigate and solve these problems. Trains pass by the settlement but do not stop there. Its inhabitants are waiting and hoping. Perhaps now is the time to make their hopes come true. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)