The project “Open skies”

The project "Open skies" helps television stations in countries with developing democracies attract viewers and advertisers. Internews receives from all over the world and disseminates via satellites high quality information, documentary, educational, publicistic and entertaining programs and scientific films on various topics.

The project is available for any independent television company and Internews-Kazakhstan is always ready for negotiations on possibility of featuring the project’s programs “Open skies” by Kazakhstani stations. However, there are few conditions, which are mandatory for participants.

Programs are disseminated according to the principle: “one broadcasting company in one city”. Stations are obligated to provide Internews-Kazakhstan with tapes, where to film packages can be recorded, and also return tapes for re-recording opportunely. If conditions of an agreement are not complied with, Internews has a right to annul it and sign a new one, with another independent station, which broadcasts in the same region or city.

The films of the project “Open skies” are demonstrated on Saturdays and Sundays during suitable for the viewer time, which is agreed upon with Internews-Kazakhstan. The films are aired only once, but stations have a right to make copies, and also use film fragments in their programs.

In July of 1998 Internews purchased a program consisting of thirteen series “Puzzles of ancient civilizations” (produced in Great Britain, each series lasts 45-50 minutes). Films tell about life of ancient people, their culture, traditions and customs. Internews-Kazakhstan translated the films and made subtitles in Kazakh language. “Puzzles of ancient civilizations” were featured in a number of independent Kazakhstani television companies in 1999.

In September 1998 Internews Kazakhstan received a program from Moscow - "Anatomy of feelings" (director Nadezhda Khvorova). Stories for 26 parts of the program (each one consists of separate stories and narrates about different feelings - pity, love, loneliness, despair, envy and etc.) were received from all corners of the CIS. Demonstration of the first 12 parts took lace on television companies of the network “Ren-TV” in 1997. All parts of the program were broadcasted in 1998-1999 in Russia (TNT network) and CIS countries.

Internews-Kazakhstan translated “Anatomy of feelings” and produced subtitles in Kazakh language for program broadcasting, which were sent to 21 television stations of the country free of charge and were aired in a number of independent stations.

Translation and production of subtitles for the films is contribution of Internews in Kazakh-speaking programming of independent stations (according to new law "Оn mass media", volume of programs on television and radio broadcasting channels, irrespective of forms of ownership, in state language in terms of time should not be less than the total volume of programs in other languages. Independent stations of Kazakhstan now experience problems with programming in Kazakh language).

Moreover, Internews-Kazakhstan is working out a project of purchasing 12 PCs at the expense of grants with subtitle programs for translation of programs and films of independent stations into Kazakh language.

Today independent television companies in Aktyubinsk, Almaty, Astana, Karaganda, Kostanai, Semipalatinsk, Taldykorgan, Temirtau, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Shymkent provide its viewers with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the best samples of world documentary film-making production (including those translated into state language).