Marat Usmanov is the creator and director of Where Land Bleeds. A Kazakh journalist with decades of media experience, he has worked across television, press services, and national publications, often dealing with complex, sensitive, and politically nuanced issues.

This project is not his first time confronting painful truths — but it is the first time he’s doing it on his own terms. With a background in creative editorial leadership and hands-on crisis communications, Marat brings both emotional clarity and structural discipline to his work. He has spent years telling stories that others hesitated to touch — and Where Land Bleeds is the natural extension of that commitment.

The idea for the film grew out of a long-form investigative article he published on Soviet nuclear testing. The article sparked little public response — and that silence became a catalyst. What began as documentation grew into a documentary vision aimed at an international audience.

Marat lives and works in Kazakhstan.

Pofessional profile: LinkedIn