Welcome to the USA

Completed2019Kazakhstan95 min

Aliya wins the opportunity to move from Kazakhstan to the United States, but the prospect of leaving does not produce a simple answer. While she…Read more +Read less −

Aliya wins the opportunity to move from Kazakhstan to the United States, but the prospect of leaving does not produce a simple answer. While she waits for the next stage of the process, she continues the routines that connect her to home: visiting family, caring about her niece and spending time with friends and a woman she loves. Those attachments exist alongside the restrictions, prejudice and frustrations that make departure appealing. This drama observes a lesbian protagonist at a point when an imagined alternative life has become unexpectedly practical. Rather than turning migration into an easy escape story, it gives weight to the relationships and ordinary details that complicate the decision, asking what freedom might mean when it requires distance from people who still matter.

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Drama

Sapphic characters & cast

Saltanat Nauruz

as Aliya

Main sapphic character

Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Saltanat Nauruz official alumna publicity headshot

YOUR FIRST LOOK

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Details & credits

Alternative titles: АҚШ-қа қош келдіңіз
Country: Kazakhstan
Language: Kazakh, Russian
Premiere: 2019-11-20
Runtime: 95 minutes
Director: Assel Aushakimova

Official film publicity poster supplied to distributor or film catalogue; pending review

Artwork source & permission status

Editorial review approved — rights not independently confirmed

Official film publicity poster supplied to distributor or film catalogue; pending review

Original publication ↗

Sources & editorial notes (5)

Last researched 2026-10-30. Editorially approved.

year: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
genres: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
status: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
country: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
language: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
directors: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
description: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
trailer url: NewFest official festival trailer
western cast: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
premiere date: AFI world-premiere screening on Wednesday 20 November 2019; festival announcement confirms world premiere.
runtime minutes: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
alternative titles: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
classification note: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence
representation type: Film identity and sourced lead eligibility evidence