If Only I Could Hibernate

I den første mongolske film som noensinne har blitt tatt ut til den prestisjetunge Un Certain Regard-seksjonen på filmfestivalen i Cannes, møter vi 15-åringen Ulzii. Han bor sammen med sin alkoholiserte mor og to småsøsken i et iskaldt nomadetelt i Ulan Bator. Ulzii er superdyktig i fysikk og læreren tror han kan vinne en nasjonal konkurranse i faget. Men veien dit blir fryktelig tung, når han må passe på familien sin også. 

Regissør Zoljargal Purevdash forteller her en sterk og rørende historie. Amatørskuespilleren Battsooj Uursaikh stråler i rollen som Ulizi og If Only I Could Hibernate viser at det er noe veldig spennende på gang i den mongolske filmindustrien.

Mongolske Zoljargal Purevdash studerte film i Japan før hun flyttet tilbake til Mongolia. Hun har laget flere kortfilmer, blant annet Burgundy (2013), Outliers (2017), Stairs (2020) og Yellow Bus (2022). If Only I Could Hibernate er hennes spillefilmdebut.

In English

In this wonderful and heartwarming feature debut, the teenage boy Ulzii must juggle his own dreams and the responsibility for his two younger siblings. The film was part of the prestigious Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.

15-year-old Ulizi lives with his alcoholic mother and his siblings in a traditional tent in Ulan Bator. They have moved from the countryside to the city so that the children can attend school, but their mother struggles to provide for them, and they barely have enough coal to keep the tent warm. The responsibility falls on Ulizi, who has a superb talent for physics and is encouraged by his teacher to enter a talent competition to win a scholarship for further studies. However, this becomes increasingly difficult to manage with a mother who is disappearing more and more. 

Purevdash has created a powerful and touching story and amateur actor Battsooj Uursaikh shines in the role of Ulizi. If Only I Could Hibernate demonstrates that there is something very exciting happening in the Mongolian film industry.

Zoljargal Purevdash is a Mongolian film director. She studied film in Japan before returning to Mongolia. She has directed several short films, including Burgundy (2013), Outliers (2017), Stairs (2020), and Yellow Bus (2022).