Shaken Aimanov

Shaken Kenzhetaevich Aimanov (Kazakh: Шәкен Кенжетайұлы Айманов; born 15 October 1914 – 23 December 1970; Bayanaul) was a Soviet (Kazakh) film director, screenwriter, actor. He is considered to be the father of Kazakh cinematography, as well as an iconic film director and actor. He directed eleven films between 1954 and 1970.

Aimanov was born in Bayanaul, Russian Empire (now Kazakhstan) in 1914. He studied at the Kazakh Institute of Education in Semipalatinsk (now Semey) from 1931 to 1933. He began his acting career at the Kazakh Theater of Drama in Alma-Ata in 1933. Vivid social and psychological characteristics are inherent in his art. His best roles include Akhan Seri in Akhan Seri and Aktokty by Gabit Musirepov, Isatai in Isatai and Makhambet by Akhinzhanov, Kobylandy Batyr in Kobylandy by Mukhtar Auezov, Kodar in Kozy Korpesh and Bayan Sulu by Gabit Musirepov, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, and Tikhon in The Storm by Alexande...