Black Milk

Writer and director Uisenma Borchu takes on the role of Wessi, a woman who returns to the steppes of Mongolia from Germany to reconnect with her sister and the traditions she once left behind. Free- spirited Wessi is immediately drawn to the nomadic life and to their mysterious older neighbour, but her forthright sexuality is both shocking and fascinating to the pregnant, more conservative Ossi. As the pair clash over cultural expectations and patriarchal traditions, Wessi discovers a radical sense of self.

‘I was intrigued by one picture I had of my cousin, Gunsmaa Tsogzol, who plays Ossi, where she was standing in the Gobi Desert. And I always asked myself: “Why do I always think about her?” And another question was, “What would I be doing right now if I hadn’t left Mongolia when I was four or five years old?” My mother used to say: “If we hadn’t left the country, you would have been a nomad girl.” I wanted to get away from this typical romanticised image, and I wanted to shoot as rough as possible and to be as realistic as possible. I wanted to be direct and intimate with the nomads, and for me, that means just showing them and how they really live.’

Uisenma Borchu, Director