Across the Mongolian steppe, a herdsman confronts climate change, the slow encroachment of gentrification, and a fading way of life in To Kill A Mongolian Horse. Xiaoxuan Jiang‘s debut feature weaves an intimate story around Saina, a non-actor and professional herdsman whose journey sees him try and stoically endure the changes he’s not quite ready to face. She is a Manchurian filmmaker born and raised in Inner Mongolia, China and who was BFA summa cum laude in Film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Selected for this year’s Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori section, we spoke with both the director and star at the Red Sea International Film Festival about making the picture, the decision to cast Saina, and much more.
