Biography

Gulshat Diasovna Omarova (Kazakh: Гүльшад Диасқызы Өмарова, Gülşad Diasqyzy Ömarova; sometimes credited as Guka Omarova, born 8 October 1968) is a Kazakh film director, actress and screenwriter. She was born in Alma-Ata, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and now lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In 2004, Omarova was presented the Alice Award for Best Female Director by the Copenhagen International Film Festival for her film, Shiza. Gulshat Omarova was born in Alma-Ata to a family of a journalist. Her father was the sports writer Dias Omarov and her mother worked in "Vechernyaya Alma-Ata".