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If Only I Could Hibernate

Baavgai Bolohson (Mongolian with French subtitles)
Location
Fernand-Seguin screening room
Date
October 4th - 9th, 2024
Duration
98 min
Cycle
New releases

The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.

Official selection, Un Certain Regard, 2023 Cannes Film Festival
Mongolian entry for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Award

If Only I Could Hibernate
Directed by
Zoljargal Purevdash
Language
Mongolian with French subtitles
Actors
Battsooj Uurtsaikh, Nominjiguur Tsend, Tuguldur Batsaikhan
Origins
Mongolia, France, Switzerland, Qatar
Year
2023
Duration
98 min
Genre
Drama
Format
Digital
Synopsis

Ulzii, a teenager from a poor neighborhood in Ulaanbaatar, is determined to win a sciences-physics competition to get a scholarship. His illiterate mother finds a job in the countryside, leaving him and his brother and sister in the middle of winter. Ulzii wanders around at night looking for things to burn for heat while preparing for the national competition.

If Only I Could Hibernate

Zoljargal Purevdash

Zoljargal Purevdash is a Mongolian filmmaker who studied at Obirin University in Japan. Her short films have been screened at festivals such as the Tampere Film Festival, the Short Shorts Film Festival Asia, and the Open Doors Locarno Film Festival. In 2021, her short film Stairs won first prize at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and was selected for the 94th Academy Awards. Her debut feature film, If Only I Could Hibernate, was part of the official selection for Un Certain Regard at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Bio & photo: K-Films Amérique