COCKCON 2020

A brief moment at a hacker conference planted a seed that would eventually spawn an ad-hoc motorcycle gang in the Orkhon Valley of Mongolia. Join Vincent Canfield and the COCKCON crew as they ride motorcycles for the first time through one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

Mongolia: Eternal Blue Heaven

Film for an exhibit on Mongolia in San Francisco.

The Two Horses of Genghis Khan

An old, broken morin khurr (horse head fiddle) compels renowned Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi to take a road journey to Ulan Bator and the steppes of Mongolia.

The Story of the Weeping Camel

When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.

In the Frozen Tomb of Mongolia

O Gengis

A family of Kalmyk nomads walks in the footsteps of their famous ancestor, Genghis Khan, on a dramatic journey of initiation along the ancient silk road.

Walking With Dinosaurs Special: The Giant Claw

Journey back to the dunes of prehistoric Mongolia to find the owner of the largest claws of all time - Therizinosaurus. Presenter Nigel Marven's adventure covers vast nesting sites, skirts curious velociraptors and avoids the terrifying tarbosaurus so we can come face-to-face with The Giant Claw.

Nomad Meets the City

Currently Mongolia’s capital has 1.5 million inhabitants - half the population of the country. 50-year Tumurbaatar is only one of many coming to the city to fulfil their dreams of a better life.

Falconry

Batbileg lives in a ger district of Ulaanbaatar with his wife and two children, making a living by training falcons for hunting and showing them to tourists. Every year, at the beginning of summer, he captures and trains the hawks, and at the start of winter, he releases them back into the wild. One of his recurring endeavors begins with training a hawk named “Andgai.”(Oath). However, laws and regulations on bird training are lacking, and the densely populated urban environment, crowded with people and buildings, is far from suitable. Batbileg aims to revive Mongolia’s ancient falconry culture, raise public awareness of the value of falcons, and pass on conservation ideals to the younger generation. Yet, in the face of the many challenges before him, he is forced to confront a dilemma: should he comply with the law, or remain faithful to his ancestral tradition?

The Bounty Hunter of Mongolia

In the Darhat valley in northern Mongolia, the horses of nomadic tribes are stolen by bandits who then sell them to Russian slaughterhouses. Shukhert, a brave horseman, relentlessly pursues them through the Mongolian taiga, bordering Siberia.

Taiga

The Darkhad and Soyon Uriyanghai peoples live in a vast valley in Northern Mongolia, much as their ancestors have for centuries. "Taiga" is the record of a long period spent by the German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger among these people.

The Eagle Huntress

Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

Shamans of the Reindeer Herders, Northern Mongolian Taiga

A captivating story of a quest to find shamans among a small band of nomadic, reindeer herders, known as the Dukha, who live in one of the most remote and hard to reach areas of Mongolia. The Dukha are among the last nomadic, animal-dependent, self-subsistence cultures remaining in the world. There are now less than 200 Dukha remaining. They live in small groups and migrate over an area of 6 million acres in the Sayan Mountain Range. Life for the Dukha tribe is simple and hard. Their way of life has been passed down through an untold number of human generations. They currently face many challenges as they struggle to maintain their ancestral lifestyle in an ever-changing world. Ancient shaman ceremonies are featured.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La (2023) journeys through Mongolia from an intercultural perspective, reflecting on tradition, modernity, and the tension between indigenous and Western belief systems. As filmmakers from industrialized nations — Germany and South Korea — we critically examine our own positions as outsiders, questioning the ways in which histories, environments, and ways of knowing are perceived and represented.

The Arctic Camels

When the two children Torarin and Svalin wants to ride horses, their parents buy two camels instead, but realise it's more difficult than they thought and travel to Mongolia to meet the experts.

Eastern Memories

At the turn of the 19th and 20th century Finnish philologist G. J. Ramstedt travelled around Mongolia and Central-Asia. In this documentary Ramstedt’s memoirs are heard in the modern day setting, where tradition is replaced with hunger for money, and deserts give way to cities.

The Falconer Sport of Kings

Join the quest of International martial arts champion Eddie Brochin to become a master of falconry; Leading him to Mongolia where he learns to fly eagles from the descendants of Gengis Khan.

First Ascent / Last Ascent

Best friends Hazel Findlay and Maddy Cope journey to the rocky outer reaches of Mongolia, on a quixotic search for new trad routes.

Young Masters: Wild Wind

For the fourth episode of the original series “Young Masters”, NOWNESS CHINA travelled north to the barren and cold expanse of the Hulunbuir Grasslands in October 2022. There, the team met Angchinhuu, a budding horse trainer in her sophomore year of junior high. Described as a “girl like the wind”, Angchinhuu possesses qualities that are typical of teenage girls everywhere: she is restless, daydreams, and is hopeful. She is also exceptionally determined to carry on her family’s profession of training horses amidst the unforgiving grasslands, a remote terrain marked by severe weather conditions.

Melody for the Camel

A documentary of the life of camel herders and the culture of adopting an orphan camel by "seducing" a mother-camel through a morin khuur (a horse fiddle) melody.