From Netflix to historical dramas: Where the dombyra can be heard

Avatar: The Last Airbender

One of the most recent examples is linked to Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. Kazakh composer and musician Dana Zulpykhar contributed to the musical score of the project’s second season by recording dombyra and kobyz parts. These instruments were included in the orchestration of the soundtrack, composed by Takeshi Furukawa.

Notably, in the second season of Avatar, the creators of the musical score turned to the sounds of Central Asia. In an interview with What's on Netflix, composer Takeshi Furukawa said that while shaping the musical identity of the Earth Kingdom, the team drew inspiration from the Silk Road region, including Kazakhstan, and sought to carefully combine traditional instruments with Western orchestral music.

Kuruluş: Osman

Kazakh instruments were also heard in the Turkish historical series Kuruluş: Osman. Kazakh kobyz player Yerzhan Arkabay from Zhanakorgan and dombyra player Arslanbek Sultanbekov took part in the project. The musicians were invited by Bozdağ Film, and in the series they appeared as zhyrau invited to the inauguration of Osman Bey.

According to Arkabay, the project featured the song Osman Bey, based on Sultanbekov’s piece Qosai and performed on the dombyra with percussion instruments. The musical synthesis of the dombyra and kobyz became part of the scene and highlighted the common Turkic roots to which the historical drama refers.

The Eagle Huntress

Another international example linked to Kazakh culture is the documentary film The Eagle Huntress. Directed by American filmmaker Otto Bell, the film was released in 2016 and told the world the story of Aisholpan Nurgaiypkyzy, a 13-year-old ethnic Kazakh girl from Mongolia who decided to become an eagle huntress and continue her family tradition.

Narrated by actress Daisy Ridley, the film showed not only the young heroine’s journey, but also the world of Kazakh nomads in the Altai Mountains, where music, clothing, language and rituals become part of the visual image of steppe culture. Later, Kazakh documentary filmmaker Kanat Beisekeyev also dedicated a film to Aisholpan as part of the Koshpendiler series.

Although The Eagle Huntress is not directly a film about the dombyra, it is important for such a selection as an example of how Kazakh identity, traditions and the image of the steppe become recognizable to global audiences through cinema.

Qyz Zhibek

The dombyra holds a special place in Kazakh cinema. In the legendary 1970 film Qyz Zhibek, the sound of traditional music becomes part of the love story of Tulegen and Zhibek.

The music for the film was written by Nurgisa Tlendiyev, a composer, conductor and dombyra player, while the film’s musical fabric features kuis (instrumental musical composition) by Kurmangazy, Turkesh and Tlendiyev’s own works.

Already in the prologue, where images of the steppe, swans, a shanyrak and a ruined village set the tragic tone of the story, the sound of the dombyra and a song about the homeland can be heard. In the film, music is closely connected with the image of the zhyrau, rituals, aitys and nomadic life.

Dombyra

In the short film Dombyra by the Kazakhfilm studio, the instrument becomes not merely musical accompaniment, but the center of the plot.

The film by director Ramazan Khaliolla tells the story of a boy who plays the dombyra and dreams of performing in front of an audience.

In 2019, the film received the Best Film award at the Delhi Shorts International Film Festival in India, and in 2020 it was awarded a special jury prize at Spain’s Short of the Year festival.

Myn Bala

Akan Satayev’s 2012 film Myn Bala: Warriors of the Steppe is set in the first half of the 18th century, during a turning point in Kazakh history, when the struggle against the Dzungar invasion made unity and courage decisive forces on the path to freedom.

The story follows young Sartai and other Kazakh teenagers who rise to defend their native land, turning the film into a coming-of-age drama as well as a large-scale historical epic.

The film was produced by Kazakhfilm Studios, with Renat Gaisin listed as composer. Its large battle scenes, steppe landscapes, costumes and use of the Kazakh language help create a strong national atmosphere.

The film was shot over 90 days, with locations including the Kapshagai area, Charyn Canyon, Kapal-Arasan, Tamgaly Tas and Big Almaty Lake. The main Battle of Anyrakai scene was filmed over nine days with six cameras and around 1,000 stunt performers involved.

August

In 2025, ethnic sound also appeared in connection with the spy thriller August, a film based on Vladimir Bogomolov’s novel In August of 1944, also known as The Moment of Truth.

The story is set in August 1944 in the forests of western Belarus, shortly after the territory had been liberated by Soviet troops. At the center of the plot is a SMERSH counterintelligence unit that must track down an enemy reconnaissance group transmitting encrypted radio messages from behind the front line.

For the film’s soundtrack, Bashkir band AY YOLA recorded a version of Black Moon by Agatha Christie. The musicians added kurai, kubyz, dombyra, throat singing and vocals to the arrangement.

Plectra Series 3: Kazakh Dombra

American company Impact Soundworks released the virtual instrument Plectra Series 3: Kazakh Dombra, designed for composers and sound designers working in digital music production.

The developers describe it as an ancient fretted lute from Kazakhstan with a bright, percussive tone and detailed sampling. The library allows musicians to use the timbre of the dombyra in digital music production, including as a solo instrument, as part of an ensemble or as an element of cinematic and game music.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had said the dombyra, as a sacred national treasure, should become a unique brand representing Kazakhstan around the world.