A spiritual shaman is a crucial member of the community, the one who everyone depends on when in need of moral and spiritual guidance. What happens when that shaman is a 17-year-old high school student who must balance his profound Spiritual responsibilities while also juggling another life — that of a high school student — working hard to succeed in the cold, callous society of modern Mongolia. Introducing Ze, 17-year-old gentle Mongolian shaman…

One of the most notable emerging filmmakers of recent years, Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, makes films about modern Mongolia. She captures the unique character of Ulaanbaatar—its traffic jams and the juxtaposition of rural life with modern “smart” apartment complexes—as well as the changes in Mongolian society: the emigration of young people, alienation from tradition, and the breakdown of family ties. Here, the wind is both a harbinger of a frightening modernity and the whisper of ancestors, carried through surviving rituals.