‘Sicko’ Director on Why Gory Kazakh ‘Parasite’ ‘Not as Violent as Life Itself’: ‘Life Has Much More to Be Afraid Of’

Article excerpt

Kazakh director Aitore Zholdaskali defends the graphic violence in his debut film "Sicko," a crime thriller about a desperate couple's internet scam scheme that spirals into bloodshed. The film, screening at the Transilvania International Film Festival this week, contains brutal imagery that Zholdaskali argues reflects reality more than sensationalizes it. "Life has much more to be afraid of," he tells critics concerned about the gore, positioning the movie's visceral content as commentary rather than exploitation. Written by Zholdaskali, Kazybek Orazbek, and Aldiyar Zhaparkhanov, the hard-boiled thriller explores how a get-rich-quick scheme descends into chaos.