Khadak (2006)

Directors:

Peter Brosens
Jessica Hope Woodworth

Writers:

Peter Brosens (writer)
Jessica Hope Woodworth (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 February 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, a young nomad confronted with his destiny after animals fall victim to a plague which threatens to eradicate nomadism.

Plot Keywords:

Steppes | Plague | Mongolia | Vision | Epilepsy

Awards:

16 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Batzul Khayankhyarvaa	...	Bagi
Tsetsegee Byamba	...	Zolzaya
Banzar Damchaa	...	Grandfather
Tserendarizav Dashnyam	...	Shamaness
Dugarsuren Dagvadorj	...	Mother
Uuriintuya Enkhtaivan	...	Naraa
Otgontogos Namsrai	...	Doctor
Gereisukh Otgon	...	Nurse
Bat-Erdene Damdinsuren	...	Zolzaya's Brother

Directed by
Peter Brosens
Jessica Hope Woodworth

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Brosens		writer
Jessica Hope Woodworth		screenplay

Produced by
Peter Brosens	....	co-producer
Jeremy Burdek	....	co-producer
Sakhya Byamba	....	line producer
Heino Deckert	....	producer
Joost de Vries	....	co-producer
Od Howell	....	line producer
Nadia Khamlichi	....	co-producer
Leontine Petit	....	co-producer
Adrian Politowski	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Christian Fennesz
Dominique Lawalrée
Michel Schöpping
Altan Urag

Cinematography by
Rimvydas Leipus

Film Editing by
Nico Leunen

Production Design by
Agi Ariunsaichan Dawaachu

Makeup Department
Paula Leupold	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Gilles Waterkeyn	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Amgalanbayar Batbayar	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Pepijn Aben	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Gies	....	sound editor
Marc Lizier	....	sound editor
Michel Schöpping	....	sound
Gijs Stollman	....	assistant sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Timm Brückner	....	gaffer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Agi Ariunsaichan Dawaachu	....	costumes

Music Department
Michel Schöpping	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Ines Häufler	....	script editor
Peter Krüger	....	script editor
Janina Kuhlmann	....	production assistant
Marco Mangelli	....	calculation, scheduling: pre-production

Production Companies

• Bo Films
• Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel et des Télédistributeurs Wallons
• Cinéart
• Lemming Film
• Ma.Ja.De Filmproduktion
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg
• Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM)
• Motion Investment Group
• Nederlandse Programma Stichting (NPS)
• Netherlands Fund for Film
• VAF
• Vlaamse Radio en Televisie (VRT)
• ZDF/Arte

Distributors

• Contact Film (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Farbfilm-Verleih (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Lifesize Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Nederlandse Programma Stichting (NPS) (2009) (Netherlands) (TV)

Also Known As:

Khadak - Die Farbe des Himmels (Germany) (TV title)
The Colour of Water (Belgium) (working title)

Runtime:

Belgium:104 min

Country:

Belgium | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

Mongolian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Belgium:KT | Germany:12 | Netherlands:6

Filming Locations:

Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

Bo Films

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the shots where the Shamaness is smashing the liquor bottles on the ground, several of them bounce, or just break into a few pieces, but the sound effect is still that of a bottle shattering to bits.

interesting, beautiful images, yet unconvincing

I saw the film only yesterday, yet my impression at the end of it has not changed. It is certainly a film containing beautiful images of snow covered plains and wastelands in Mongolia. And in the beginning there is some promise of yet another quiet, elegiac tale of wide plains, nomads and their wisdom. But this quietist expectation soon is shattered, and the viewer, together with the film's protagonists, is thrown out of this sub-zero garden of Eden. What follows still remains beautiful and striking in its imagery, but annoyed me more and more because of the loosening up of the structure and ever more unexpected twists and turns, until, really, I reached the point where it got very hard to be bothered at all. Though I am not against experiments and boldness, this attempt at a poetic film of a conflict between tradition and modernity was lost on me, mainly because its makers apparently could not decide between impressionist documentary, expressionist story-telling and a superficial interest for the folklore of the supernatural.