Russia, 2024 | 80 min Director: Tatyana Soboleva 12+ Competition Documentary Films
The Nogai people are descendants of the Golden Horde who are living in the Southern Caucasus of Russia. They experience issues of language loss, identity loss, and lately, there has also been an ecological disaster. Formerly lush and green, today the Nogai steppe is turning into a desert. In the fall, the team leading by simple woman Gulfira goes deep into the new desert for several months. Every day they walk for many kilometers under the icy sandy wind and planting branches of Juzgun - a shrub with long roots that can stop the sand. Will Gulfira survive in this battle for the homeland or will the Nogai land disappear along with its people?