City of wind

Original title: Ser ser salhi
Genre: Drama
Director: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Country: Mongolia, France, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Qatar
Year of production: 2023
Czas: 103 min

Awards and nominations:
2023 Venice Film Festival: selected for the Horizons Competition
2023 Venice Film Festival, the Horizons Competition: Best Actor – Tergel Bold-Erdene
2024 Mongolia’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards

Ze has an incredible gift of connecting with the world of primeval forces. The fact that he’s only seventeen doesn’t deprive him of the elders’ respect. Being an intermediary between the present world and the land of ghosts, the boy easily deciphers fears and desires of other people. When he falls in love for the first time, his perspective changes dramatically, and the reality he knew presents itself in a new light. What if his teenage feelings turn out to be stronger than the confines of tradition? In her feature directorial debut, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir portrays the young generation of Mongolians choosing to listen to their own needs and dreams rather than the voices of their ancestors. The growing pressure from the adults and the obligation to follow archaic rules push the adolescent characters to seek refuge in the liveliness of Ulan Bator. Surrounded by mountains, the concrete city offers them a substitute for freedom. Will the teenagers abandon the suburbs filled with the music from Jew’s harps, and instead choose the neon lights and the wind of approaching change?

Author: Daria Sienkiewicz

Director:
Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir – acclaimed Mongolian director whose short films have won awards at international festivals in Venice, Toronto, and Busan. Her feature directorial debut “City of Wind” premiered in the Horizons Competition in 2023, where it was awarded in the Best Actor category. It’s Mongolia’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

   subtitles in Polish and English