Becoming

Set in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this drama follows Mila, a seventeen-year-old who joins a high-level swimming squad to distance herself from a volatile home environment. Under the guidance of her coach, Vlad, she navigates the pressures of rigorous athletic training and allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. As she develops a complicated attraction to Vlad, she must also contend with past traumas and ethical struggles that jeopardize her autonomy.

The film was written and directed by Zhannat Alshanova, who also served as a producer alongside Denis Vaslin and Jean-Laurent Csinidis. It is a multinational production involving companies from Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Lithuania, and the Netherlands Antilles. With a runtime of 93 minutes, the movie was released on August 7, 2026.