State of Dogs

This is a contemporary tale about a Mongolian dog who didn’t want to become a man. STATE OF DOGS is an astonishing mix of personal journey and social commentary. Beautiful and haunting, the film is structured by the reminiscences of Basaar, a stray dog killed by a hunter in Ulan Bator. Mongolians believe that dogs are reincarnated as human beings, but Basaar is reluctant to accept this fate. Basaar’s story is intertwined with Mongolian myth and contemporary verse, taking on the texture of a poetic fable.

Details

Country of Production
Belgium / The Netherlands / Denmark / Finland

Year of Production
1998

Format
35mm, Digi Beta Pal, Beta SP Pal

Length
88 min

Director
Peter Brosens and Dorjkhandyn Turmunkh

Production
Inti Films in co-production with Balthazar Film, Magic Hour Films, Crea Video, Tobch Toli Productions and ZDF, in association with Arte and YLE

Original Language
Mongolian

Subtitles
English, French

Festivals / Awards

Venice FF
Toronto FF
Yamagata IDFF
Visions du Réel Nyon (Grand Prix)
Maremma IDFF (Grand Prix)
Biennale für Medien und Architektur Graz (Grand Prix)
International Environmental Film & Video Festival Seia (Grand Prix and Special Jury Award)
Sao Paulo IFF (Critics Award)
International Environmental Film & Video Festival Gava (Best Feature Film Award)
Message to Man IFF St. Petersburg (Special Jury Award)
MediaWave International Festival of Visual Arts Györ (Best Script Award)
Molodist IFF Kiev (Best Documentary)
Strasbourg Semaine du Documentaire de Création Européen (Mention Spéciale du Jury)
New European Talent 98 Barcelona (European Lianas for Best Documentary)
World Festival of Human and Nature Films Korea (Silver Award)