About this project

Mongolia? Hip hop? WTF?!

That’s right - this is a film about Mongolian hip hop. Well, it’s actually a film based around hip hop, but it goes far beyond that. Over the five years we have been working on the film, I’ve really gotten to know Mongolia - both the traditional life of nomads and herders, and the modern life that most Mongolians lead. Here’s how we explain the film on our flyer;

Forget about nomads and monks! It’s hip hop that’s making Mongolia move in the 21st century. Mongolian Bling jumps into the thriving music scene in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and follows stars as they rap nationwide with their bitches, cars, and jewels.  But beyond this bling lies a dying ancient culture in a country struggling to find a new identity. While many rappers still aspire to the West, a handful can hear the wisdom of their elders, and are using hip hop to try and salvage their country’s flailing democracy by bringing Mongolia’s rich musical history into their modern beats and rhymes.

One of the main themes in the film is identity; what does it mean to be Mongolian for the youth of the country in 2011.

Quiza is one of the most recognised rappers in the country. His political messages have given him a loyal older audience and while he often copies American musical trends, he now feels like his music needs more depth and is trying to incorporate traditional music into his rap.

In the Ger Districts surrounding the city lives Gee. Six foot tall and tattooed, his messages of everyday life has given him a huge following of youth living around him in slum-like conditions. Believing that Quiza has sold out to commercialism, he tries to keep hip hop ‘true’, but in doing so, he has to balance his nationalism and love of western hip hop.

At 23, Gennie is busy juggling work, study, motherhood and trying to break into the male dominated hip hop world.  Living with her husband and child, she’s determined to be heard and is on track to fulfil her dream of being the first female Mongolian rapper.

These hip hop artists are joined by traditional musicians, shamans, young kids rapping and everyday Mongolians, all of whom help paint a picture of modern Mongolia. There is some incredible footage and great sounds that we can’t wait to show you.

What’s been done?

All the filming has been done. We’ve spent two minus 30˚C winters, as well as a month of summer filming in Mongolia and have all the interviews and footage. We’ve also created a one hour version of the film which will be screened on the ABC next year. We have a team who have been working together for the last couple of years and are ready to get stuck into the feature length version.

What has to be done?

We now have to create a feature length version. This is the story WE want to tell, not the story that has to be 56 minutes for the TV station. With the sale of the story to the ABC, we know that it’s going to be successful, so we’re making the feature length version for film festivals and DVD.

There are lots of things to still do, but some of the places your pledges will be used include;

• Editing (putting the story together in the edit studio)
  
• Coloring (making all the colours look great and correct for different screens)
  
• Creating a 5.1 Dolby mix (making all the sounds the right volume and creating a surround sound mix of them)
  
• Creating an original soundtrack for the film
  
• Getting clearance on archival footage
  
• Getting the rights to the film’s music
  
• Creating screener copies of the film for film festivals
  
• Creating DVD’s for you!
  
• Publicity of the film around the world and online

How can I tell my mum about this?

We’d love you to ‘like’ our FACEBOOK PAGE, and share it with people you think might be interested. Also, check out our WEBSITE where we have a trailer, blog and more info. When the film is completed, we’ll be relaunching the website with trailers, character bios and a ton of information which will make it THE place to go for everything Mongolian hip hop.

Can you show us some of the rewards?

Sure! We still have to make some of them such as the DVD and the BOOK, but here are a few that we have or are working on.

Here are some old shots of the MONGOLIAN BLING T-SHIRTS. We are planning fitted one for ladies this time, and in more colours.

Check out the TRADITIONAL RAP PAINTINGS! Here are two examples by Dashka and Anz, two Mongolian artists.

Check out our LOGO! yeah, we love it too.

Here is a working version of the MONGOLIAN BLING POSTCARD that we are working on. There will be set featuring all the stars from the film.

Thanks!

Thanks so much for taking the time to check out our Kickstarter campaign. My entire life has been based around this film for the last five years, and it’s so exciting to be so close to completion.

If you want to help make this film a reality, please back the project!

Benj Binks

Writer | Director