Experiencing Interruptions?

Where Eaglets Grow

Jiuha, a Yi ethnic boy, is a skilled basketball player and the hero of his friends. When their only ball breaks, he loses his status. His teacher announces the prize for an upcoming sheep-herding competition is a real basketball. Jiuha wins, but the ball is accidentally lost. To reclaim it and his friends' respect, he embarks on a lonely yet brave journey of growth.

  • Jingjing LOU
    Director
  • Da Ma
    Director
  • Xiao Han
    Writer
  • Xiaomeng Gong
    Producer
  • Yuanjian Wu
    Key Cast
  • 生特吾姬
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 34 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    October 1, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    China
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Beijing International Children's Film Festival

    China
  • Moscow International Film Festival

    Russian Federation
  • Sapienza Film Festival

    Italy
  • Folkestone Film Festival

    United Kingdom
Distribution Information
  • ASSOCIATION FRANCE CHINE DES MOUVEAUX CINÉMAS
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
Director Biography - Jingjing LOU, Da Ma

2010 Graduated from The Central Academy of Drama.
In 2013 the screenplay *Tourist Bus* won the "Xia Yan Cup" Outstanding Screenplay Award.

Director：MA DA
Member of the China Television Artists Producers Committee; Member of the China Producers Association; Member of the Beijing Television Artists Association; Chairman of the Xichang Film and Television Artists Association

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Zimugatuo” means “my world” in the Yi language.
On the surface, the story is deceptively simple, as news reports would have it: children from a remote, impoverished mountain region searching for a basketball. Yet, the children’s spirit exists in a realm entirely its own, detached from external perceptions. When we strip away the tinted lenses of worldly labels like “mountain region” and “poverty,” what I see is simply a form of life itself—unadorned, vibrant, and pulsating with a profound beauty.
A child who has lost his father is not defined by shadow. Instead, he blossoms between the mountains and the clouds—fragile yet resilient, navigating his own path and stumbling forward on his own hero’s journey. This is what moved me, and this is the driving force behind my creation.
I approach this work with a deep reverence and admiration for such beauty. It is not merely a film, but a poem about life itself.