‘Nomadic Doctor’ snatches Student Oscar

‘Nomadic Doctor’ is a documentary film directed by Mart Bira and produced by Adishaajav Tuvshinbat. The film inspired by a Mongolian doctor has won the gold award at the Student Academy Awards.

Previously awards for the Best Student Short at Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards and The Platinum Remi Award at the 51st World Fest-Houston International Film Festival were won by “Nomadic Doctor”, which gave it the eligibility to run for the Student Oscars.

The plot of the documentary is about a doctor who travels long distances of up to 100 km in a single day in all types of harsh weather to treat patients. Doctor D.Erdenechuluun unveils her days and night traveling by horse, camel or car to provide medical care for nomadic families living in the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

Though officially a pediatrician, D.Erdenechuluun covers every aspect of medal care from internist to gynecologist, as well as surgery and dentistry. She looks after the health of over 1,500 people and the Nomadic Doctor is the only person that knows every single one of them. The documentary views her as the backbone of the Mongolian health service

“My film has been so well received and I am delighted to win a Student Academy Award. It wasn’t easy to find a topic for my MA final major project and I had so many ideas in my head. I am originally from Mongolia and always wanted to introduce my culture to the world. My sister was a doctor there and she told me about the long-distance travels and frequent walks or rides in the dark that she undertook to reach patients. Through my discussions with her, I began to formulate the idea of ‘Nomadic Doctor’,” said Mart Bira.

This year's Student Academy Award winners were chosen from 1,582 entries. By winning the Student Academy Awards, “Nomadic Doctor” is now also eligible to receive nomination at the Oscars in the Documentary Short Subject category.