Kekexili – Mountain Patrol

“This is a dramatic story, strongly executed, that immediately draws you in,” says festival jury member Keith Partridge.

In the desolate, mountainous region of western China called Kekexili, the only inhabitants who seem suited to the bitter cold are the indigenous antelope. But in the mid-90s, the herds faced extinction at the hands of poachers who slaughtered the animals, hundreds at a time, for their pelts.

The government responded by forming a legendary band of local Tibetan men to patrol the mountains; they were ill-equipped and unpaid and set out to stop poachers armed with machine guns. This is a true story.

This film was part of Feature-Length Films Program: Sunday, October 30, 3:30 p.m.