Photo Credit: Banff Mountain Festival
(Australia, 2009, 55 min., English/Mongolian w/ES: English subtitles)
Director: Michael Dillon
As official cinematographer for Sir Edmund Hillary, award-winning filmmaker Michael Dillon changes gears in A Little Bit Mongolian, which follows Angus Paradice, an Australian 12-year-old, on his journey to race horses with the Mongolian children in the annual Nadaam Festival. While on holiday with his family, Angus is taken by the festival’s exhilarating (and dangerous) horse races across the plains and valleys of northern Mongolia. He returns home to Australia, committed to training in the hopes of joining the races the following year. Through the film, the viewer is able to visit nomadic families, witness fascinating inter-cultural negotiations, watch the rigorous training – and, ultimately, experience the races in which Angus participates. This film won the Best Film on Mountain Culture award at the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival.
