Pluto Film has saddled up and boarded “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The film debuts its trailer here (above).
Directed by Xiaoxuan Jiang, the film – selected for the Venice Days section – is inspired by true events and her real-life friend Saina: a Mongolian herdsman who decided to become a horseback performer and who ended up as the lead.
“Before I started writing, I found myself in a particular place in my filmmaking career. I was wondering how I can make the kind of films I want to make and, at the same time, have a sustainable, healthy career,” she told Variety.
“Some of my friends started to make commercials for money, so I already know this struggle of deciding if you should continue doing something, even though it gives you nothing in return. This dichotomy between a role I have to ‘perform’ and the desire to be my true self… I felt that too.”
During her frequent visits to the horse shows, she was also struck by their “hyper-masculine” atmosphere and the performers becoming the subjects of a “fetishized” gaze.
“When I started discovering these shows, I was intrigued by what was happening backstage. I was watching them as they had to dress up and put on all this makeup in order to become these heroic figures. It’s not something that happens naturally. It takes time for you to put on this ‘armor’.”
A co-production between Malaysia, U.S., Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” was exec produced by Tan Chui Mui and produced by Zhulin Mo for Da Huang Pictures.
“Finding the right partner has been challenging, but Pluto Film, with its bold and adventurous spirit, aligns perfectly with our team. I’m thrilled that we’ve connected,” she said, underlining the team’s “indie” way of working.
“We were able to make this film because the budget is extremely low. We worked on a tight schedule and with non-professionals, which turned out to be a very good idea. If we had a dream sequence taking place in a blizzard, we had to wait for the actual blizzard,” laughed Xiaoxuan Jiang, admitting that relying on international funding was fundamental.
“For future projects, I would still like to stick to smaller budgets, however. It seems doable – for now – and it offers you more flexibility.”
Daniela Cölle, Pluto’s managing director and head of acquisitions, added: “We are constantly traveling the world of cinema, on the lookout for inspiring new voices. We were immediately captivated by this powerful film by a first-time director who proposes a female perspective on a story about a man whose world is falling apart around him.”
Although it’s placed in a “specifically local” context, the film’s story is universal, she noted.
“It matters for all those being affected by fundamentally changing socioeconomic realities. We see ‘To Kill a Mongolian Horse’ traveling to festivals and we will combine all our efforts to bring this important film to the big and small screens of the world. We want to make sure that nobody is missing out on this inspiring piece of filmmaking.”
