World Premiere
Tulgaa returns to his native village to care for his dying stepfather, honouring his remaining commitments by offering to lend a hand with the summer harvest. But upon witnessing Tulgaa’s clumsy first attempts, Tuntuulei, a sassy 10-year-old boy, takes it upon himself to school the city slicker on the grassland ways. Despite getting off on the wrong foot, the two soon find common ground and form a delicate bond that will transform their lives.
At once dense and light on its feet, this understated drama wields a notable humorous touch, rooted largely in the warm cultural temperament and hearty performances by the two leads, whose effortless chemistry is both spunky and disarmingly raw. Actor-director Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam makes a seamless transition behind the camera, expertly tapping into mainstream conventions while never losing sight of the intimately familiar cultural lens. Baljinnyam intuitively harnesses the power of the Mongolian landscapes to amplify the emotional footprint and underscore the looming realities of a nomadic culture on the brink of change.
Presented by
Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, Tenuun-Erdene Garamkhand
Mongolia
2022
In Mongolian with English subtitles
Coarse language; violence
Open to youth!
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Train Dreams
A lovely, ruminative movie set in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the last century. Robert (Joel Edgerton) is a lumberjack, a taciturn man who comes to appreciate the life slipping between his fingers.
Wisdom of Happiness
An audience with the Dalia Lama, who, at 90, looks back on his life and shares the tenets of Buddhism as a practical guide to surviving the 21st Century with joy and compassion.
Caravaggio
In the latest from Exhibition on Screen, co-directors David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky shed light not only on Caravaggio's paintings, but his life, often kept half-hidden in the same chiaroscuro tones he shaded his masterpieces with.
Left-Handed Girl
Co-written and edited by Sean Baker (Anora), Shi-Ching Tsou's heartwarming solo feature debut follows a single mom in Taipei who is too consumed with her noodle stand to keep tabs on her five-year-old daughter's burgeoning shoplifting habit.
The Librarians
Dispatches from the front line of America's culture wars (and ours too): librarians speak out about the war against ideas, history, freedom of expression and sexual identity, a campaign in which an open mind is the ultimate enemy.
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Baby Amelie believes herself to be a god. Her parents (Belgian diplomats in 60s Japan) can barely cope -- but find the perfect nanny to restore order in this delightful animated feature.
Credits
Executive Producer
Zavier Dumans
Producer
Uran Sainbileg
Screenwriter
Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam
Cinematography
Josua Fischer
Editor
Bayarsaikhan Batsukh
Production Design
Bolor-Erdene Naidannyam
Original Music
Odbayar Battogtokh
Director
Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam
Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam worked previously as an actor and producer on Thief of the Mind (2011) and Trapped Abroad (2014), both directed by Janchivdorj Sengedorjs. He appeared in the Netflix original series Marco Polo as Ariq Böke (Khubilai Khan’s brother). More recently, he worked as a screenwriter and actor on Under the Turquoise Sky (2021), about a Japanese man who goes on a journey of self-discovery in Mongolia.