Born in 1987 in Southern Kazakhstan, Elzat ESKENDIR studied Philology (2005-2009) at the State Kazakh University, and Film Directing (2013-2015) at the Art Academy in Almaty. He worked for several years as editor-scriptwriter at the National Film Studio “Kazakhfilm”. In 2016, his first short film OFF-SEASON won the Sonji Award for Best Short Film at the Busan Film Festival, and Best Debut Award at the Kinoproba IFF in Russia. The film screened in competition in other major international film festivals.

ESKENDIR is currently finishing the post-production of his first feature film ADASQAQ.

His new project ABEL selected at the Busan's Asian Project Market in 2020 is currently in development.