Zhannat Alshanova

Zhannat Alshanova is a London-based writer/director from Kazakhstan, drawn to stories of characters in transition — people caught between identities, cultures, and shifting narratives.
Her shorts have screened at Cannes’ Cinéfondation (End of Season), Sundance (Paola Makes a Wish), and TIFF (History of Civilisation), which also won Locarno’s Silver Leopard. Her debut feature Becoming premiered at Locarno and later screened at Busan, POFF, and Göteborg. She is currently developing several feature projects, including Etc. with Film4 (TIFF Writers’ Studio) and A Minor Issue (LIM).
Zhannat is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, TIFF Filmmakers Lab, and Locarno’s Directing Workshop, where she was mentored by Béla Tarr.

A Minor Issue

LIM² 2026

A Minor Issue is a nocturnal, dialogue-driven film about Lu (27), a young foreign architecture student in London whose ambitious final project collapses on the eve of her graduation. As she struggles to “fix” it through the night, she confronts her fear of failure, irrelevance, and creative paralysis. By dawn, she abandons the need to impress and presents something simple.
The film explores the courage to fail in a world obsessed with success.