Turkish company to allocate $1 million for Bekmambetov’s new cartoon

The film studio “Bazelevs” founded by Timur Bekmambetov will shoot a cartoon about the hero of oriental folklore Khoja Nasreddin.

The studio has entered into an agreement with the Turkish Yerli Duunce Broadcast Media Ltd., which will finance the project and receive the rights to distribute it in the country, according to OOPS TOP.

It is also investing in the opening of an animation school in Türkiye, where Bazelevs employees will train local actors to become 3D animation artists.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed in the studio’s press release. According to the source RBC, the investments of the Turkish side amounted to $1 million, but this is not the final budget of the project. According to another interlocutor of RBC, the total investment will reach 500 million roubles ($6,446).

Türkiye became the third country to support the cartoon about Khoja Nasreddin. In 2021, Bazelevs entered into an agreement with the National Film Agency of Uzbekistan and the Kazakhfilm studio.

Timur Bekmambetov himself will be the director, his studio is also working on a series, comics and a VR project with the participation of this hero. An expected release date for the film has not been announced. Prior to this, the Russian studio produced the cartoons Smeshariki. The Beginning (2011), The Snow Queen (2012) and Alice Knows What to Do (2013).