Taskovski Films has acquired world rights to the Danish documentary “Daughter of Genghis,” produced by “The Lost Leonardo’s” Andreas Dalsgaard for Elk Film. The debut feature film by award-winning photojournalists Christopher Joel Poulsen and Christian Als will have its world premiere in the F:ACT Competition section of the leading international documentary festival CPH:DOX in Copenhagen. diverse She exclusively insured the trailer.
“Genghis’s Daughter is a provocative exploration of global extremism, delving into the emotional dynamics and pathways to extremism,” said Irina Taskovsky, CEO of UK-based Taskovsky Films. “Set against the backdrop of Mongolia’s struggle for sovereignty amid geopolitical tensions, the film highlights the resilience of its main character, Jerel Byamba.”
“With its powerful blend of geopolitical significance and nuanced character portrayal, the film promises great commercial potential and broad audience appeal,” she added.
The massive collective filmmaking effort, which involved numerous flights between Denmark and Mongolia and more than 200 hours of footage from two cameras, first began in August 2015, when Als and his former colleague from the Danish School of Journalism Knud Brix decided to investigate the rise. Right-wing extremism in Mongolia, to put it in a global context. Brix later left the project to join the Danish newspaper Ekstra-Bladet as editor-in-chief.
“Knud and I did a research trip in Mongolia; we knew it wouldn’t be easy to infiltrate this medium, but I had experience getting into the underworld,” Als, who has covered many wars and disaster zones, said in an interview with the magazine. diverse. That’s when he first met the charismatic Geryl, the leader of the women-only ultra-nationalist movement, Geryl Khas. While battling prostitution, the overwhelming influence of neighboring China, and longing for the past glory of her nation under Genghis Khan, Jeryl was also struggling to raise her son Temulin on her own.
“She immediately stood out, not only because of her stature, but because of her fierce personality and vision. She dreamed of a better future for Mongolia, with women at its heart,” Alice said.
Dalsgaard, who brought to the project his anthropological background, personal knowledge of Central Asia and more than 15 years of experience in documentary filmmaking, said that what convinced him to focus on Jeryl’s story was the fact that “her vision was inconsistent with her actions.” “She’s clearly been on the wrong path for many years. We rarely see this in documentaries. A woman is either a role model or a victim. Here, we had a very complex character, both bad and good at the same time, struggling to find her inner self and be Respected mother.
The producer notes that when she was first approached by the filmmaking team, she had just broken away from male neo-Nazi gangs to found her own all-female group, which “embraced the swastika as an ancient Buddhist symbol, symbolizing spiritual power and spirituality.” power. It still had a far-right agenda, but abandoned Nazi rhetoric.
In the movie we see Jeryl transform. As her gang disintegrates, she gradually abandons her violent ways, confronting past traumas and the secrets she shares with Timulin, while allowing the filmmakers into her inner journey of self-acceptance.
Their collaboration with anthropologist Elizabeth Fox, who has led research on Mongolia since 2012 and served as a translator and line producer on the film, was crucial to the filmmaking team’s ability to realize their project. Als and Joel Poulsen also praised the work of editor and co-writer Stefan Wagner (“Those Who Jump”, “Songs of Oppression”), as well as editorial supervisor Per K. Kierkegaard (“The Cave”, “Armadillo”).
Discussing their cinematic approach to observation, Dalsgaard said that having two cameras made it possible to edit and film at the same time, and the natural conversations and crucial encounters in the film were the result of a close-knit relationship with Gerell, who simply invited the filmmakers. To capture those scenes.
“As we kept returning again and again to Mongolia, we gained a lot of trust from Jeryl, who gradually opened up,” Joel Paulsen added. “This allowed us to be part of extraordinary scenes.”
“The recipe was just hanging out with Jeryl, talking, and sometimes not filming,” Als said.
Ultimately, Dalsgaard hopes “Genghis’s Daughter” will challenge the traditional, and often cliche, view people have of Mongolia as “an exotic nation of nomads and eagle hunters.” He stressed that here we have a truly contemporary story, delving into the complexities of nation, and being an indigenous nomadic people, but in a very modern context.
The veteran producer and director of the award-winning film “The War Show” sees the film as a way to engage in the topical debate on nationalism.
“At a time when we are witnessing massive societal division, in the United States and Europe, it is crucial to understand where nationalist and populist sentiments come from. This film shows, from a human point of view, what leads to extremism and violence,” Dalsgaard said, before adding : “Geryl takes us into the trauma that fuels her hatred, and takes us on her journey, beyond that. This is how she can make a constructive contribution to Mongolia, which is what has always driven her.”
The documentary is produced by Elk Film, in association with France’s Pumpernickel Films and Sweden’s Mantaray Film. Participating broadcasters include Danish broadcaster DR and Norwegian web channel VGTV.
Along with “Daughter of Genghis,” Taskovski Films will screen in the highlights section of CPH:DOX Nemanja Vojinovic’s “Bottlemen,” the best documentary at last year’s Sarajevo Film Festival.
“Genghis’ daughter”
Courtesy of Christopher Poulsen, Christian Als