KHADAK

Bagi is a young herder in the Mongolian steppe, in winter, in the second half of the twentieth century. He suffers from seizures that throw him to the ground and in which the shaman of his region recognises a calling. Then the state intervenes: citing an epidemic among the animals, Bagi’s family is forced to give up their nomadic life and move to a mining settlement, into a life governed by shift schedules. There Bagi meets Zolzaya, who steals coal, and finds a form of resistance. Pieter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth tell, in “Khadak” (2006), of the forced settlement of the nomads – as the story of one individual who will not comply.

Brosens had previously made a documentary trilogy about Mongolia, where he met Woodworth; “Khadak” is their first feature together, produced in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. In Venice, it won the Lion of the Future for best debut in 2006. “Khadak” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2007.

Shown at the 2007 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2007 · Film Archive