Why Daisy Ridley decided to produce The Eagle Huntress

The documentary directed by Otto Bell has earned more than $1,5 million at the US box office in six weeks and was shortlisted for the best feature documentary Oscar along with other 14 finalists.

The documentary, narrated by Ridley, is based on a true story of 13-year-old Aisholpan who trains to become the first female eagle hunter in 12 generations of her family.

Ridley told BBC that right after watching the documentary she was completely blown away and immediately called Otto Bell to ask how she could help.

Bell and executive producer of the film Morgan Spurlock claim that independent and resilient Aisholpan reminded them ‘a real life Rey'. But Ridley denies that that was the major factor that drew her to the film.

"It just reminded me of me and my own relationship with my dad, and how unflinching he was in his support of me wanting to become an actress," she told BBC.

Ridley is confident that the audience will realize that Aisholpan's family and their relationships with each other is ‘the hidden gem of the film'.

The actress called Aisholpan ‘genuinely inspirational', adding that her story will affect many girls. "She [Aisholpan] takes it all in her stride. I just have huge respect for the way she goes about everything. She barely has a presence on social media, she does it because she wants to, not because she wants to be recognized for it."

According to Ridley, the documentary is like a breath of fresh air ‘in a world where so much is about what you look like'.

It is worth mentioning that a Hollywood company bought the rights to The Eagle Huntress to make it into an animated film. Now Aisholpan's family has enough money to make one of her dreams come true - to become a surgeon.