The first film to show Mongolia – “Storm Over Asia”

Soviet studios made several films about Mongolia from the late 1920s onwards. The first film to show Mongolia on screen was The Descendants of Genghis Khan (1928). Also shown under the name Storm Over Asia, Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin’s film drew on the novel Potomok Genghis Khan to depict the protection of Mongolia from foreign aggressors.

Other productions followed, including Sergei Dmitrievich Vasilyev and Irina Vladimirovna Wenger’s 1930s classics “10 Years of the People’s Republic of Mongolia” and “Naadam”.

The first Mongolian feature films – “Mongolian Son”

It was not until the middle of the 1930s, however, that the first joint Mongolian-Soviet film was made. The iconic Mongolian Son, which depicts a man’s journey to happiness in his own country, was premiered in 1936. Mongolian Son’s director was Soviet cinematographer I.Z. Trauberg, and its assistant directors were Mongolians T.Natsagdorj and S.Demberel. On one level the production of this film, which was made at the Lenfilm Studio, was aimed at showcasing the close political relationship between Mongolia and the USSR. But it was also designed to highlight the customs and way of life of the Mongolian people at the time. As such Mongolian film historians have claimed it is the first film to introduce Mongolian life to the world. It was an unprecedented innovation to depict the social life of Mongolia, the wellbeing of Mongolians, and rural lifestyles and livelihoods.

Mongolian Son was aimed at comparing the miserable faces of Inner Mongolians living under foreign rule with free Mongolian people living in the Mongolian People’s Republic.

Mongolian Son portrayed a message of freedom that vividly stuck in the minds of its audience. A total of 34,500 Mongolians watched the film, which was also shown abroad. The acting in the film was critically acclaimed, and provided a first opportunity for Mongolian actors to show their main characters in a distinctive way. Mongolian Son was also the first Mongolian film with sound and Ch. Tseveen, the leading actor, dubbed his own voice as part of the film making process. Mongolian Son was also notable for training new technical staff with no previous experience of filmmaking.