In the mid-1980s, there was every reason to believe that the Mongolian film industry had reached its peak of development. By this time more than 80 percent of film making staff had completed higher or secondary education and worked in a variety of disciplines. One of the major directors of this time was D. Jigjid, who started his film career with People’s Messenger, and successfully participated in the Moscow International Film Festival (1959) and Canadian International Film Festival (1960). D. Jigjid took part in the filming of Tsogt Taij in 1945. During this period he observed Yu.Tarich’s work, and also learned how to work with novels and actors. His subsequent films cemented his reputation as a talented and sensitive artist. Notable works include To my Father in Ulaanbaatar, Son-in-Law, and Ard Ayush. His film Human Trail, however, caused a great deal of ideological controversy on its release and was nearly closed down as a result. D.Jigjid’s films successfully combined evocations of memory, words, music and simple narratives to achieve great success and long-lasting popularity. A public opinion poll published by Zuunii Medee in 2000, for example, named him as Best Director of the 20th Century.

By the late 1980s, the mood of society was changing and Mongolia moved towards the end of the communist system that had dominated it for nearly seventy years. These were years of great change and aspiration, reflected in cinema in historical films about the great medieval Queen Mandukhai. Award-winning academician Shagdarjav Natsagdorj wrote a historical novel Mandukhai Tsetsen in 1981, about the ruler who re-united the Mongolian state in the middle ages. This book was adapted into a famous four-part film, Mandukhai Tsetsen Khatan, which was released in 1988.