Equus - Story of the Horse
Niobe Thompson of Clearwater Productions, is Canadian anthropologist and film maker who came to us whilst researching for his new documentary Equus; Story of the Horse. He needed a fixer that could embed him with a family living with and relying on the sturdy horses of Mongolia.
We were able to do just that. Niobe and crew first travelled to Mongolia in winter to join the family on migration in the harsh conditions in Western Mongolia. The crew returned again to continue the story, migrating with the family to their spring pastures, and again for the horse races of the Naadam Festival. Finally the shoot was completed with our translators hosting interviews with the characters to wrap up the storylines.
The series debuted in Canada on CBC in 2018, and in 2019, it will air on PBS in the USA, ZDF in German-speaking Europe, Arte in French-speaking Europe and around the world on many other broadcasters. The expected audience is to be in the tens of millions, and we know that the series is already translated into French, German, Danish, Russia, Spanish, Italian, and even Kazakh.
Niobe was so inspired by the characters and story lines he discovered in Mongolia he decided to make a short film; Boy Nomad studies the life of Janibek a nine-year old Kazakh nomad in the Altai mountains of Western Mongolia.
Boy Nomad premiered at the Banff Mountain Film Festival in November 2018, and it was among only 20 films selected from the over 500 films submitted to be chosen for the Banff World Tour.
