The film was Davaa's thesis project for graduation from the University of Television and Film at Munich. She spent two weeks in Mongolia searching for the perfect family. Once she chose the Batchuluuns, she spent two days with them before going back to Germany. She then returned with her film crew and spent another week with them before starting production. There was no question of asking her cast to learn lines. Davaa simply set up situations and let them react as they normally would. As a result, the family behaved as if there were no cameras present. Their natural performances add greatly to the film's power. Even the dog responded well to her efforts, winning the Palm Dog at the Cannes Film Festival. The film also won a Special Mention at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature Film at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the German Film Award for Outstanding Children or Youth Film.
By Frank Miller
