Harvest Moon
In this tender and touching drama out of Mongolia, a chef and a ten-year-old boy, neither of whom knew their biological fathers, become friends when the former returns from the city to pay respects to his dying grandfather.
Tulgaa (Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam) puts his life as a successful chef in the city on hold to care for his ailing stepfather on a rural Mongolian farm. When his stepfather dies, Tulgaa feels obligated to complete the farm's harvest to honor a contract made for its crops. Working the fields doesn't come naturally to him, and he finds himself being mocked by a ten-year-old neighbor boy named Tuntuulei (Tenuun-Erdene Garamkhand), who steps in to show him the ropes. The two soon develop a surprising bond, working the field during the day and opening up to each other by night. It's not long before they discover they have more to offer each other than they could have ever expected. Baljinnyam, primarily known as an action star, makes his debut as a writer and director with this warm and lively story of an unexpected friendship set against a disappearing way of life in one of the world's most remote regions.
—Betsy Cass
- Original Language Title: Эргэж ирэхгүй намар
- Director: Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam
- Principal Cast: Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, Tenuun-Erdene Garamkhand, Damdin Sovd, Davaasamba Sharav, Tserendarizav Dashnyam
- Premiere Status: US
- Country: Mongolia
- Year: 2022
- Running Time: 90 min.
- Producer: Uran Sainbileg
- Screenplay: Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, Bayarsaikhan Batsukh
- Cinematographers: Josua Fisher
- Editors: Bayarsaikhan Batsukh
- Music: Odbayar Battogtokh
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Vancouver International Film Festival 2022 (Vanguard Audience Award), FESCAAAL Milan 2022 (Audience Award), Fribourg International Film Festival 2022 (Best Actor)
- Filmography: Debut Feature Film
- Language: Mongolian
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: Asian Shadows