NOMADS World Culture Festival Site, Taij Mountain, Nalaikh
August 21–23, 2026
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM Daily

All Festival Program Films

Ala kiyiz

15 min Kyrgyzstan Tynystan Temirzhan Kyrgyz Mountain Herders Nomadic Futures

Produced by the Tartaly Film Collective, Ala kiyiz documents the traditional Kyrgyz art of felt carpet making.

Alihan’s Village

14 min Kyrgyzstan Dastan Borkosh Kyrgyz Mountain Herders Nomadic Futures

Produced by the independent Tartaly Film Collective in Kyrgyzstan, Alihan’s Village (Bizdin Ayyl) follows a young boy named Alihan living in a rural mountain village where everyone knows each other’s nicknames.

An afternoon on the pasture

190 min Hungary Zsolt Molnár & Sándor Karácsony Hungarian Puszta Herders Perspectives on Pastoralism

László Sáfián – born into a Hungarian family that has been herding for generations – explains how he, with his dog, manages close-herded grazing on a patchy semi-natural pasture.

Bayandalai: Lord of the Taiga

11 min Mongolia Aner Etxebarria Moral & Pablo Vidal Santos Dukha (Tsaatan Reindeer Herders) Perspectives on Pastoralism

From inside his yurt in northern Mongolia, the reindeer herder Bayandalai ‒ an elder of the Dukhas tribe ‒ muses about the significance of life and death in the largest forest on Earth, the Taiga.

Before More is Lost

7 min India Dawa Sangbo Bhutia & Radhika Gupta West Sikkim Agropastoralists Nomadic Futures

In the remote mountains of West Sikkim, a community of yak herders once lived in close relationship with nature, relying on traditional farm ing, local seeds, forest resources, and ancestral knowledge passed down through generations.

Changing a Landscape to a Lifescape: the Humboldt Ranch

In northeastern Nevada, the Humboldt Ranch is transforming more than 350,000 acres of public and private rangelands through innovative grazing practices.

Climate change and pastoralism

Part of the MOOC course material for Pastoralism in Development created by IIED, MISEREOR, and Saverio Krätli.

Commitment (Zaveza)

16 min Slovenia Tajda Jerkič & Anja Poznič Slovenian Alpine Goat Herders

A student workshop documentary about a Slovenian urban family who moved to the countryside to dedicate themselves to goat herding, capturing their daily commitment, hard manual labor, and family bond.

Conservation and Traditional Survival

22 min South Africa Humair Hayat Nama Perspectives on Pastoralism

After several years of negotiations with the South African National Parks Board, the local Nama people were allowed to remain living and grazing their livestock in a designated nature conservation area – the Richtersveld World Heritage Site in Northern Cape Province bordering Namibia.

Cowherds of the Savannah

26 min Uganda Mark Michel & Neue Celluloid Fabrik Karamojong Perspectives on Pastoralism

The Karamojong are herdsmen in the North-East of Uganda and guardians of their landscape.

Days of the Wolf

In Italy’s Apennine Mountains, large carnivores are creating problems for herders.

Enchukunoto (The Return)

16 min Kenya Laissa Malih Maasai Perspectives on Pastoralism

In this intimate and groundbreaking film, Laissa Malih, the first female Maasai filmmaker, returns to her ancestral village in Laikipia to explore how climate change is transforming Maasai lands and lives.

Fatuma and Assya – Two Afar Girls in Ethiopia

20 min Ethiopia Francesco Sincich Afar Perspectives on Pastoralism

This film tells the story of two girls in Afar, northeast Ethiopia, and how they face challenges in their young lives: Fatuma seeking to avoid the traditional arranged marriage and Asya trying to deal with livestock theft and conflict with the Somali Issa.

Guardians of the grasslands

13 min Canada Sarah Wray & Ben Wilson / CRSB Canadian Prairie Ranchers Perspectives on Pastoralism

Canada’s native grasslands are disappearing at an alarming rate; they are one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world.

Herders at the Edge

18 min Mongolia Delgerzaya Delgerjargal Mongolian Horse Herders (Bayankhongor) Nomadic Futures

As the Naadam summer festival approaches, horse trainer Amraa and 11-year-old jockey Jantska prepare their stallion for the race.

Living in the Mountains of Ladakh

3 min India Stanzin Dorjai Gya Changpa (Ladakh) Perspectives on Pastoralism

In this film, a nomadic woman shares her daily life in Ladakh’s high mountains.

Losing Ground: Documentary Cinema, Pastoral Knowledge, and Environmental Justice in Mongolia

20 min Mongolia Bradley Rappa Mongol Herders Nomadic Futures

An ethnographic documentary examining how climate change, overgrazing, and destructive mining practices threaten Mongolian nomadic herders.

Maasai Voices on Climate Change (and other changes, too)

10 min Kenya Joana Roque de Pinho & Maasai Youth Filmmakers Maasai Nomadic Futures

A 10-minute participatory documentary made by a freshly trained-in-filmmaking group of young Kenyan Maasai women and men from the Maasai Mara, sharing their firsthand observations on climate change, changing seasons, land privatization, and cultural transformation.

Pastoralism is the future

Man-made climate change is creating conditions on our planet that are increasingly characterised by variability and unpredictability.

Preserving Rajasthan's camel herds

5 min India LPPS & Camel Charisma Raika Perspectives on Pastoralism

Features community-led initiatives in Rajasthan to create sustainable livelihoods from camel milk and camel wool products, aiming to save endangered camel herds and preserve the traditional Raika way of life.

Sharing the Land

14 min Spain Ofelia de Pablo & Javier Zurita Spanish Transhumance Herders Perspectives on Pastoralism

This documentary brings the testimonies of three herders – Fernando, Juan and Sofía – who have learnt to live close to wolves.

Shepherds of the Deccan

For hundreds of years, the Dhangar nomads have kept sheep on the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra State, India.

Stories from the landscape: cattle drove

30 min Ireland Christopher O'Donnell Irish Cattle Drovers Perspectives on Pastoralism

This film shows the living cultural heritage of transhumance in Europe: moving livestock to different grazing grounds in a seasonal cycle that goes back as long as people have been farming in the region.

Tarlamt: Salt Caravan to Bilma

Filmed in 2000 with lightweight equipment in harsh desert conditions, this documentary follows a Tuareg (Kel Eway Imjaghan) camel caravan traveling across the Sahara to Bilma, documenting traditional trade routes, desert survival, and social organization.

Tes River Mongolians

58 min Mongolia Joseph L. Subbiondo / Asian Cultural Council Mongol Herders Perspectives on Pastoralism

The Tes River flows from the Bulnai Mountains through three Mongolian provinces – Khuvsgul, Zavkhan and Uvs – feeds into Lake Uvs, registered by UNESCO in 2013 as a Natural World Heritage site.

The Custodians of the Andean Gold

32 min Bolivia Bibiana Vilá & CONICET Andean Llama/Vicuña Herders Perspectives on Pastoralism

In the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia, Quechua and Aymara families depend on alpacas and vicuñas for their livelihoods, selling the animals’ prized fiber.

The Kumbhalgarh Raika Story

12 min India LPPS & Hanwant Singh Rathore Raika Perspectives on Pastoralism

Highlights the struggle of the Raika camel herders of Rajasthan, India, as they advocate for grazing access rights within the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, demonstrating their role as stewards of forest biodiversity.

The Largest Cave in Mongolia and its only remaining family

30 min Mongolia Steps Without Borders NGO Mongol Herders (Dornogovi) Nomadic Futures

Produced by Steps Without Borders NGO (Хил хязгааргүй алхам), this 30-minute documentary focuses on nomadic herding families living in Airag sum, Dornogovi aimag, Mongolia.

The Path

40 min Kyrgyzstan Aibek Baiymbetov Kyrgyz Mountain Herders Nomadic Futures

The Path (Чыйыр) is an ethnographic documentary centering on Kulmat, a manaschy (traditional epic storyteller) in Kyrgyzstan who received the oral performance gift through a visionary dream in his youth.

Umai

15 min Kyrgyzstan Alina Baitokova Kyrgyz Mountain Herders Nomadic Futures

Directed by Alina Baitokova for the Tartaly Film Collective, Umai explores female identity, maternal care, and social resilience in contemporary Kyrgyzstan.

Presenting hosts

Event partners

Festival supporters