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Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav directed “They Sing Up on the Hill” with the British filmmaker Ian Allardyce. The two have known each other since 2002 when they worked on the first reality TV talent show in Mongolia. “They Sing Up On The Hill” is Lkhagvajav’s first full-length feature film. He has previously directed short films, including “The Red Forest” (2005), “An Encounter in the Woods” (2009) and “The Wonderful Flight” (2015).

On the occasion of “They Sing Up on the Hill” screening at Cine Aasia, we speak with him about his career, the movie, Mongolia, working with non-actors, music and many other topics

Can you give us some details about the path that led you to become a director?

I graduated from some kind of technical high school, and my field was electronics. I won a bronze medal for my performance, and this allowed me to attend any school I wanted since the government pays two years tuition.

Quite an unusual film, Bat-Amgalam Lkhagvajav’s feature debut lingers somewhere between the music film (not musical though) and the drama, all the while highlighting life in Ulaanbataar, which could not be more different than the steppe settings usually associated with Mongolian cinema.

“They Sing Up on the Hill” is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia 2019

Od and his band have made it with a hit that everybody in Ulaanbataar recognizes. Despite their success however, Od experiences a continuous sense of discomfort that soon turns into depression. In his effort to change something in his life, he takes a job as a translator, where he meets Gegee, a girl that also deals with music, playing for her mother’s ballroom dance lessons. The two of them decide to play together, and soon their relationship becomes something more than a friendship, to the disgruntlement of their boss, who is constantly flirting with Gegee.

The four-day festival gives a Finnish premier to 18 East and Southeast Asian films. In addition to topical films, the festival also hosts five expert discussions in which new perspectives to the films will be explored. Helsinki Cine Aasia is the only festival of contemporary Asian cinema in Finland and it has been held annually since 2013.One of the directors of the film “They Sing Up On The Hill” (2018), Mongolian Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav is Helsinki Cine Aasia’s will attend Helsinki Cine Aasia. The film that charms with its sincerity is focused on two young musicians’ encounter and the tenor of their lives in rapidly changing Mongolia. Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav directed the film together with the British filmmaker Ian Allardyce. The two have known each other since 2002 when they worked together on the first reality TV talent show in Mongolia. “They Sing Up On The Hill” is Lkhagvajav’s first full-length feature film.