Based on real-life events a decade ago in Kekexili (pronounced Cur-cur-shee-lee) national park, this stunning “Tibetan Western” is set on the Himalayan plains at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Poachers, most of them desperately poor local farmers, have reduced the Tibetan antelope, prized for it’s pelt, from a million strong to a few thousand. The Mountain Patrol, a band of unpaid and ill-equipped local men, led by Ri Tai, take on the dangerous task of tackling the poachers. Some of the poachers get away and Ri Tai decides to pursue his and leads his dwindiling band of men on a chase that rapidly comes to seem suicidal. This epic tale of men battling against the elements, clearly filmed in the most adverse conditions with a nonprofessional cast, gives you a taste of the wild Tibetan plateau like no other film ever made. Lu smartly minimizes the need for exposition by using the figure of a visiting Beijing photo-journalist as the audience-surrogate. The reports filed by his real-life prototype helped goad the Chinese government into policing the area.

Lu Chuan was born in Xinjiang, China. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy with a master of arts degree and then worked as a screenwriter for China Central TV’s drama series, Black Hole. In 2001, he made his first film, The Missing Gun. Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004) is his second feature, which has won many awards including Special Jury Prize of 17th Tokyo International Film Festival.

Producers: Yang Du, Zhonglei Wang Screenwriter: Chuan Lu Cinematographer: Yu Cao Editor: Teng Yung Music: Lao Zai Cast: Duo Bujie, Zhang Lei, Qi Liang, Zhao Xueying, Ma Zhanlin