ACF
Asian Cinema Fund
Script Development Fund
2023 Script Development Fund
LIST To Kill a Mongolian Horse
| Category | Asian Project |
|---|---|
| Project | To Kill a Mongolian Horse |
| Director | JIANG Xiaoxuan |
| Country | Malaysia, Hong Kong, US, Korea, Japan |
| Director's Profile | Xiaoxuan Jiang is an ethnic Manchurian filmmaker born and raised in Inner Mongolia, China. Her works explore themes of femininity, animals, nature, and mysticism in the Inner Mongolian context. In 2020, she received her BFA summa cum laude in Film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her latest narrative short "Graveyard of Horses" was officially selected for FIAPF-accredited A category film festival Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, SXSW(South by South West) Film Festival, Busan International Short Film Festival, IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, NOWNESS Short Film Talent Awards, and won Bronze Dinosaur Award at Etiuda&Anima International Film Festival. |
- Synopsis
- Amid the wintry steppes, Saina, a Mongolian horseman turned cultural performer, tends his ranch during the day and performs horseback tricks for audiences at night. Unlike the majestic cavalryman he portrays in the show, Saina discovers that his herdsman’s life is on the verge of disintegration.
- Director's Note
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The film is inspired by true events that happened to my friend Saina, a Mongolian herdsman who chose to become a horseback performer for a more stable income. When I visited him at the horse show, I was struck by the hyper-masculine atmosphere, where traditional Mongolian masculinity was prominently featured. These male performers became the subjects of a fetishized gaze, celebrating not just their masculinity but also their ethnic identity.
In the film, I cast Saina to play himself, portraying a character navigating between the horse show′s world and his real-life struggles. As events unfold, Saina starts to find the stark contrast between his performed roles and his actual circumstances irreconcilable...