Doesn’t a government initiative encouraging mental and physical fitness sound motivating? Imagine if it included activities like cycling and playing chess simultaneously... In Assel Aushakimova's second feature, Bikechess, she reunites with her lead actress Saltanat Nauruz to portray Dina, a disenchanted Kazakh broadcast journalist who is much more capable than the propaganda she is forced to cover. Ambivalent toward her professional mandate, she is tasked with presenting these seemingly absurd programs in a positive light. Challenged by her younger sister (Assel Abdimavlenova), a lesbian activist who constantly brushes with authorities, she also navigates a relationship with her married cameraman (Shyngys Beibituly).

With incisive observation and dark humor, the film dissects the levels of absurdity that the state will embrace and the constraints journalists face when striving to maintain ethical standards in the face of institutional pressures. Nauruz delivers a sharp and acerbic performance that complements the writer/director’s quick-witted and novel approach.––Nora Bernard