Aisholpan is a thirteen year-old ethnic Kazakh
nomad in Northwest Mongolia, but she became the sort of internet sensation
every hipster aspires to be when a picture of her with her father’s golden
eagle went viral. As her eagle-handling skills developed, she became the first
girl to ever compete in the ancient Golden Eagle Festival. By the way, she is
also a straight-A student. Otto Bell managed to arrive in the Altai Mountains (the
most remote, least populated region in the world) in time to document her
hunting milestones in The Eagle Huntress, which screens during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
Young Aisholpan always had more affinity
for her father Nurgaiv’s hunting and herding than traditional women’s roles. Although
he is a devout Muslim, Nurgaiv is progressive enough to teach his daughter
traditional hunting techniques. She could not ask for a better teacher,
considering he twice won the Golden Eagle Festival and placed highly on several
other occasions. Recognizing Aisholpan’s abilities, Nurgaiv decides it is time
to corral a wild eaglet of her own in the first of the film’s three centerpiece
sequences.
Eventually, Nurgaiv allows the
increasingly proficient Aisholpan to enter the annual contest, despite his understandable
fatherly concerns. She is barely a teenager—and many of the competitors will
not welcome her trailblazing participation. However, the real test of Aisholpan’s
rapport with her eagle will come during their first hunt.
Words like “inspirational” often inspire
kneejerk snark in response, but anyone who watches Eagle Huntress is pretty much guaranteed to feel great by the time
the closing credits roll. Aisholpan is a terrific kid, whose charisma
absolutely radiates off the screen. Nurgaiv is also totally cool, giving his
daughter exactly the sort of encouragement she deserves. Even her grandfather
is surprisingly hip, offering his blessing for her eagle hunting training.
The soaring eagles and the Altai vistas
are as stunning as you could imagine. Yet, the really exciting thing about the
film is the groundbreaking significance of Aisholpan’s eagle hunting
aspirations. It represents open-minded social change that respects and even
strengthens cultural traditions. After all, the estimated ranks of eagle
hunters have dwindled to something in the neighborhood of 250. Frankly, Aisholpan
is exactly what they need.
Since Eagle
Huntress screened in Sundance’s kids section, a lot of press and
programmers might have overlooked it, but they will have to chase it later,
because this doc is going to catch-on in a huge way. It is just the sort of
film that leaves you with a big dopey grin on your face, so word-of-mouth will
be rapturous. For what its worth, it is also tremendously accomplished on a
technical level, as well as a wonderful trip to one of the furthest flung
corners of the world. Enthusiastically recommended for mainstream audiences of
all ages, The Eagle Huntress screens
again this Saturday (1/30) in Park City, as part of this year’s Sundance Film
Festival.