Meet Aisholpan - 13-year-old Kazakh eagle-huntress from Mongolia (PHOTO, VIDEO)

Aisholpan is the daughter of Agalai, a seventh-generation Master Eagle Hunter from the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia. Muslim Kazakhs are dominating the population in this part of the country. They used to live in traditional yurts in summer (in winter they often move to the cities). They have used golden eagles for generations to hunt for especially foxes, which are prized for their meat and furs. It is natural, that Aisholpan started helping her father, and now she is probably the only girl on the planet mastering the art of berkutchi (hunting with eagles), which is an exclusive domain of men. By the time film starts, Aisholpan has already progressed to the point where she feels ready to train her own eagle to hunt, Kazinform refers to The Hollywood Reporter.
In Mountain Morning Show broadcast on Park City Television channel, Aisholpan told about her hobby and her own eagle Ak Kanat (White Wing). Agalai started teaching her ancient nomads' culture, after his son joined the army service.
According to Agalai, he is proud of that his daughter demonstrates outstanding abilities and has mastered this occupation very quickly.
The director focuses primarily on gender equality issues describing how this little girl overcomes all traditional obstacles and wants to compete in eagle festival together with men.
Every year Kazakh hunters living in Bayan-Ulgii province of Mongolia participate in the popular Golden Eagle Festival. This is an annual competition of trained berkuts (eagles) which tests their speed, agility, and accuracy. The event enables the visitors to be closer to traditional culture of hunters. Bayan-Ulgii is the westernmost region of Mongolia sharing borders with Russia in north and with China in southwest. The total area of the province is 45,704.9 square meters. The province is popular for picturesque Altai Mountains. The event is organized by local community of Kazakhs and members of Berkutchi Association.
Sundance is the international film festival of independent storytellers held in Park City, Utah. The event is organized annually in late January. Sundance was founded in 1981 by Robert Redford. The prize was named after a character of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" film. The first festival took place in 1985 where 86 films were premiered.