Astana/Moscow - The central Asian republic of Kazakhstan plans to fight back against the damage done to its reputation by the box-office smash Borat by holding an international film festival. The capital Astana will host the "Eurasia" film festival on September 7-13.
Hollywood star Jack Nicholson has agreed to attend, festival director Gulnara Sarsenowa said, while Sean Penn, John Malkovich and Tommy Lee Jones have also been invited.
Films from Kazakhstan and the other central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will be competing for prizes. Around 50 films exhibited at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals will also be shown.
In the 2006 hit British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen played Borat, a boorish Kazah television reporter, a depiction that angered Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic which is five times the size of France and has vast oil and gas reserves.
