'The Eagle Huntress', a documentary about a Kazakh nomad girl in Mongolia learning to hunt with a golden eagle, divided opinion when it premiered at Ulaanbaatar's Tengis cinema yesterday (4^th of May). The documentary have been screened in many foreign countries since 2016 and was nominated at the Sundance, Toronto, Telluride film festivals as well as Oscars.

Aisholpan Nurgaiv, the heroine of the documentary is now studying 10^th grade and is planning to become a doctor. She was trained by her father to hunt on horseback with a golden eagle – traditionally a male pursuit – and shocks everyone by winning the prestigious eagle-hunters' competition held annually in the town of Bayan-Ulgii, in north-western Mongolia.

Bayan-Ulgii is Mongolia's most mountainous province as is home to a Kazakh majority, who are famous for keeping alive rich traditions. Every October the renowned 'Eagle Festival' is held, which showcases the hunting skills of riders and birds alike. Many nomadic families in the Bayan-Ulgii rear golden-eagles, which are trained to hunt.