The film "Давс үүрсэн 40 жил" ("For Forty Years We Carried Salt"), created by the news portal ergelt.mn, which recently published the book "The Last Nomads," has been selected to participate in the Berlin International Film Festival. This information is provided by MiddleAsianNews.
In 2025, the International Film Festival in Ulaanbaatar celebrated its 17th anniversary. As part of the festival, the event "Mongolian Film Projects" took place at the European Film Market of the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival, where the film took first place, giving the team the opportunity to showcase their project "Давс үүрсэн 40 жил" to an international jury and producers.
Director Badralmaa Bat-Erdene filmed the documentary "Давс үүрсэн 40 жил" based on materials from journalist Chantsaldulam Dorj, published on the website ergelt.mn. The film was also selected for the second stage of the International Film Festival in Kharkhorin, which will take place in June 2025, and for support from the National Council of Cinematography of Mongolia in 2025.
The documentary focuses on the lives of elderly residents of the Gurvantes sum in the Umnugovi province, such as B. Sukhee, B. Tsogzolmaa, D. Altantuyaa, and Ts. Renchinlkhumbé, who extract salt from the Dund River. They not only help nature but also provide food for their families and neighbors. B. Tsogzolmaa is Sukhee's older sister and is three years older than her. Their work involves harvesting salt in the Dund salt flat, located more than 50 kilometers northeast of the center of Gurvantes sum.
At the time of filming in 2023, Sukhee, Altantuyaa, and Renchinlkhumbé were 60 years old and attended the same middle school class. Renchinlkhumbé is the only man in the group and has become an important element of their team.
The film also showcases their hard work and efforts to protect the salt lakes from being flooded by dunes, emphasizing their desire to preserve their village in the face of the 21st century and urbanization. This story of four individuals reflects the complex social, political, and environmental issues of modern times.
