Doc shows empowering tale of teenage girl who kicks men-only tradition to the curb and soars
AZAKH teenager Aisholpan Nurgai has broken a glass ceiling in her mountainous homeland. In the new documentary “The Eagle Huntress,” we meet Aisholpan, who at 13 aims to become the first-e er female eagle hunter in the history of her nomadic culture in Mongolia’s Altai Mountains, one of the most remote places on Earth. In spite of the admonitions of a group of male elders, she trains her own eagle with the support of her father — then boldly enters the Golden Eagle Festi al, one of the year’s biggest e ents.
Director Otto Bell was hooked after seeing a photo essay, featuring Aisholpan and her father’s eagle, on the BBC. “Within a few weeks we were on the plane to Mongolia,” he says. There, he and his producer tracked down the family, who welcomed them.
“When they ha e guests, it’s a big deal — they’re ery hospitable,” says Bell. “I floated my idea, and the father said, ‘We’re going to go out this afternoon and steal an eagle from a nest for Aisholpan. Is that the sort of thing you’d like to film?’ ”
It was almost too good to be true: He’d caught the story of her eagle training on its ery first day.
“The Eagle Huntress” combines a soaring feelgood story with eyepopping cinematography shot in the mountains, where Aisholpan learns to hunt. The technique requires endless hours of hands-on training. And Aisholpan was a natural.
“There’s a moment where she’s feeding the bird a rabbit’s leg, and she just unself-consciously pushes its wing o er her shoulder and snuggles into it a little bit closer,” says Bell.
“She got closer than a lot of the men, who would kind of flinch and hold [the birds] at arm’s length. That’s how, in part, she was able to beat them at their own game. Because she had such a strong bond.”
The teen huntress, now 15, and her family recently tra eled to Los Angeles with Bell, who took them to the ocean — a first for the family — and to Santa Monica Pier, where Bell was not surprised to see his subject kicking butt.
“Those games that are supposed to be impossible to win, the ring toss? She ended up taking home this 5-foot teddy bear,” says Bell. “She just lo es to win.”
Aisholpan has since become a role model in her country. And gi en that Daisy Ridley (“The Force Awakens”) narrates the film, that may soon apply worldwide.
“She’s been out hunting with her dad and his friends a lot, and word has spread around the community that she’s the real deal,” says Bell.
“And at this year’s festi al,” he adds, “there were three more eagle huntresses. So the legacy is coming along nicely.”