The Eagle Huntress | A 13-year-old girl's dream takes flight amidst Mongolia’s Altai Mountains

By Jason Best
( What's on TV )
published

The Eagle Huntress Aisholpan
(Image credit: Asher Svidensky)

The Eagle Huntress Aisholpan

Witness one girl's dream take flight

Set amidst the stunning landscapes of Mongolia’s Altai Mountains, Bafta-nominated documentary The Eagle Huntress is a rousing tale of female empowerment in the unlikeliest of places. Narrated by Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Daisy Ridley, its heroine is Aisholpan, a rosy-cheeked 13-year-old Kazakh girl who defies centuries of patriarchal tradition to become an eagle hunter.

First-time director Otto Bell is a little too eager in places to push the viewer’s buttons. But the plucky, modest Aisholpan is utterly charming and the shots of her in action will take your breath away.

Certificate U. Runtime 87 mins. Director Otto Bell

The Eagle Huntress is available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download from Altitude Film Distribution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfi5JS6HTH0

Jason Best
Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.