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We Are Nomads: A True Story of an All Women Migration in Altai

Set in the steppes of Western Mongolia and the vast lands of Altai mountains, a group of Kazakh women go on an adventure that takes them back to their true identity as nomads. A Filipina who is a modern day nomad and an explorer from the U.S. joins the women to understand her own journey towards nomadism and her place as a woman in a male-dominated adventure travel industry. Along the way, she meets Huanar and Aimoldir whose stories reflect those of her own as a woman and a nomad. Were women leaders of nomadic migrations then and now? This is a true story of the first ever all women migration in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia that has been captured on film.

*Film link is available in 1920x1080pix (full HD) format.

  • Marinel Malvar de Jesus
    Director
  • Marinel Malvar de Jesus
    Writer
  • Marinel Malvar de Jesus
    Producer
  • Marinel Malvar de Jesus
    Key Cast
  • Huanar Juniz
    Key Cast
  • Aimoldir Dayanbek
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Adventure, Travel, Outdoors, Social Activism
  • Runtime:
    40 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 15, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Mongolia
  • Language:
    English, Kazakh
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Lulea International Film Festival
    Lulea
    Sweden
    September 24, 2021
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Marinel Malvar de Jesus

Marinel Malvar de Jesus is a former attorney from Washington, DC who chose to live a nomadic lifestyle after a 15 year long career as a prosecutor. She never left her passion for advocacy as she now uses film as a way to create equity and inclusion in the outdoor and adventure travel industry. Marinel is Filipina by birth who moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of 13. And so, it's her personal mission to create changes to advance the status of women, people of color and immigrants. Marinel believes that filmmaking can be a powerful way of elevating the voices of marginalized individuals while educating the general masses. In her method of producing films, she prioritizes the inclusion of local people in her production team as a way to ensure an authentic form of storytelling and in decolonizing the film industry.

Marinel is the founder of The Porter Voice Collective which is a non-profit human rights advocacy organization in the U.S. which aims to use media as a way to advocate for the basic human rights of porters in the mountain trekking tourism industry worldwide. She is also the founder of the travel media platform, Brown Gal Trekker.

Marinel is the producer and writer of the upcoming controversial short documentary, KM 82: The Porter Voices of Peru's Camino Inca, which tackles the exploitative working conditions on the Classic Inca Trail.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

We Are Nomads is a directorial debut for yours truly. It celebrates the relevance and history of women in the adventure and outdoor spaces. Their untold stories have yet to be told to inspire women of today and the future to become their true selves. Women can stand as leaders alongside men or otherwise even in the history of nomadic migrations. This film was produced and completed 100% in Mongolia with a local production team during the COVID 19 crisis (March to May, 2020). The film production crew and cast are 100% of Asian background (people of color).