"Protect us golden bright earth."
Daava and Zaya, a young couple with four children, return to the land and ways they once knew. A clear view to the distant horizon, sleeping in the great silence beneath the stars, talking to each other as night falls, playing the flute and singing to their herd of sheep, and feeling happiness overflow them while standing in the swirling snow. These are the things they live for.
Yet the land is desolate and much dryer than before. Climate change is real. A severe storm forces them back to the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar and the city life they tried to leave behind.
"I could even smell you, and hear your voice," says Daava "it was beautiful." He longs for the horse he had to sell, and to return to the landscape he loves.
A hybrid documentary and fictional story, the film allows us to discover Mongolia through the experiences of one family. "You feel like you might be there, get into the rhythm of the land, slow down, and feel it inside you," said director Gabrielle Brady at this Toronto International Film Festival screening. She worked with Daava and Zaya on their own terms to create something authentic and true to their character.
In the film Daava tells a Mongolian legend where lost travelers stumble upon a mirage. A woman serves them tea. Later everyone dies except the one who didn't drink the tea. This is the one who never gave up on their dream and refused to drink what was false.
