Q&A with Eldar Shibanov

11-year-old Jabai and his younger sister Saniya find out the hard way that their parents’ marriage is on the rocks. Desperate to keep the once-happy family together, they embark on a journey to the strange and mystical land of China in quest of a magical item that will save the day. Director Eldar Shibanov looks to the eyes of children for a wryly imaginative satire of adult foibles, filling his deceptively quotidian Kazakh boondocks with lively oddballs as colorful as their quirky costumes and other random devices. And wait till the kids reach their destination! From makeshift ninjas to black-market sexual enhancers, this triumphantly anarchic ride is as hilarious as it is astute.