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All Hallow's Wraith: /* Criticism */

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‎Criticism

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Eagle Huntress
| image = The Eagle Huntress.png
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| film name = 
| director = Otto Bell
| producers = {{Plainlist|
* Otto Bell
* Sharon Chang
* Stacey Reiss
* [[Daisy Ridley]] (Exec.)
}}
| starring = Aisholpan Nurgaiv
| narrator = Daisy Ridley
| music = Jeff Peters
| cinematography = Simon Niblett
| editing = Pierre Takal
| production companies = {{Plainlist|
* Kissaki Films
* Stacey Reiss Productions
}}
| distributors = {{Plainlist|
* [[Sony Pictures Classics]]
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|2016|01|24|[[2016 Sundance Film Festival|Sundance]]|2016|11|02|United States|2016|12|16|United Kingdom}}
| runtime = 87 minutes<ref name="bbfc">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/eagle-huntress-film|title=''The Eagle Huntress'' (U)|website=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=2006-11-14|accessdate=2006-11-14}}</ref>
| country = {{Plainlist|
* United Kingdom
* Mongolia
* United States
}}
| language = [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]]
| budget =
| gross = $3 million<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|title=The Eagle Huntress|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=theeaglehuntress.htm|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref>
}}
'''''The Eagle Huntress''''' is a 2016 [[Kazakh language|Kazakh-language]] British-Mongolian-American [[documentary film]] directed by Otto Bell and executive-produced by [[Morgan Spurlock]] and [[Daisy Ridley]], who served as narrator.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/11/the-eagle-huntress-is-an-empowering-feminist-fable.html|title=Mongolia's Teen Eagle Huntress Deserves to Be the Next Elsa|website=New York Magazine|date=2016-11-04|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref> The film was shortlisted for an [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Cara Buckley|title=Oscar documentary shortlist focuses on politics and race|website=New York Times|date=2016-12-06|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/movies/oscars-2017-documentary-shortlist.html?_r=0}}</ref> and was a BAFTA Award nominee.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Diana Lodderhose|author2=Nancy Tartaglione|title=BAFTA nominations: 'La La Land' leads with 11; 'Arrival,' 'Nocturnal Animals' nab 9 each - Full list & notable omissions|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=2017-01-09|url=http://deadline.com/2017/01/2017-bafta-awards-nominees-british-film-academy-nominations-1201882213}}</ref>

==Content==
''The Eagle Huntress'' follows the story of Aisholpan, a 13-year-old [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] girl from [[Mongolia]], as she attempts to become the first female [[hunting with eagles|eagle hunter]] to compete in the eagle festival at Ulgii, Mongolia, established in 1999. She belongs to a family of [[nomad]]s that spend their summers in a [[yurt]] in the [[Altai Mountains]] and their winters in a house in town. The men in her family have been eagle hunters for seven generations,<ref name="npr">{{cite web|author=Barbara J. King|title=Teenage 'Eagle Huntress' Overturns 2,000 Years Of Male Tradition|website=NPR|date=2016-01-28|access-date=2017-01-14|url=http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/01/28/464675186/teenage-eagle-huntress-overturns-2-000-years-of-male-tradition}}</ref> and she wants to follow in their footsteps.

With her father Nurgaiv's help, she learns how to train [[golden eagle]]s, and then captures and trains her own eaglet. Although she faces some disbelief and opposition within the traditionally male tradition, she becomes the first female to enter the competition at the annual [[Golden Eagle Festival]]. She ends up winning the competition, and her eaglet breaks a speed record in one of the events.

After the competition, she takes the final step toward becoming an eagle hunter by traveling with her father to the mountains in the winter to hunt foxes, braving snowy conditions and extreme cold. After some initial misses, her eaglet successfully kills its first fox and she returns home.

The film's dialog is in Kazakh; the narration is in English.

==Music==
The film's soundtrack features the original song "[[Angel by the Wings]]" by [[Sia Furler|Sia]], which was released worldwide on December 2, 2016.<ref>{{cite web|author=Seth Kelley |url=http://variety.com/2016/film/news/the-eagle-huntress-trailer-daisy-ridley-documentary-sia-1201831593/ |title=‘The Eagle Huntress’ Trailer: Daisy Ridley Narrates the Documentary |publisher=Variety |date=2016-08-05 |accessdate=2016-11-04}}; {{cite web|author=Stephanie Eckardt |url=http://www.wmagazine.com/story/the-incredible-story-behind-the-film-the-eagle-huntress-daisy-ridley-sia |title=The Incredible Story Behind the Film "The Eagle Huntress" |publisher=W Magazine |date=2016-10-25 |accessdate=2016-11-04}}; and [https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/angel-by-the-wings-single/id1178827722 "'Angel by the Wings' – Single"], Apple Itunes, accessed March 8, 2017</ref>

==Release==
''The Eagle Huntress'' premiered at the [[2016 Sundance Film Festival]], where it was purchased by [[Sony Pictures Classics]] for the US and [[Altitude Film Distribution]] in the UK. Afterwards, international distribution was handled by [[Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions]]. Following the film's premiere, co-executive producer [[Daisy Ridley]] agreed to add narration, comprising approximately five minutes total time in the 87-minute film.<ref>{{cite web|author=Guerrasio, Jason|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-eagle-huntress-daisy-ridley-sia-2016-9|title=How a movie about eagle hunting nabbed a ''Star Wars'' lead actor and a chart-topping singer|website=Business Insider|date=2016-09-24|access-date=2016-11-04}}</ref>

===Reception===
The documentary was a ''New York Times'' Critics Pick<ref name="nytimes review">{{cite web|author=A. O. Scott|title=Review: In 'The Eagle Huntress,' a girl from Mongolia soars|website=New York Times|date=2016-11-01|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/movies/the-eagle-huntress-review.html}}</ref> and an ''LA Times'' Critics Pick.<ref>{{cite web|title='The Eagle Huntress' and More Critics' Picks|website=Los Angeles Times|date=2016-11-02|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-movie-picks-20161031-story.html}}</ref> Chief Film Critics at the ''New York Times'', Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott, called the film "a bliss out"<ref>{{cite web|author=Manohla Dargis|title=Sundance fights tide with films like 'The Birth of a Nation'|website=New York Times|date=2016-01-29|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/movies/sundance-fights-tide-with-films-like-the-birth-of-a-nation.html}}</ref> and "a movie that expands your sense of what is possible"<ref name="nytimes review" /> respectively. On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a 93% "Certified Fresh" approval rating based on 89 "fresh" reviews and 7 "rotten" reviews. The consensus states: "Effectively stirring and bolstered by thrilling visuals, ''The Eagle Huntress'' uses its heartwarming message to fill up a feature that might have made for an even more powerful short film."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_eagle_huntress|title=''The Eagle Huntress'' (2016)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Flixster]]|accessdate=2016-01-15}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] reports a 72 out of 100 score based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-eagle-huntress|title=''The Eagle Huntress'' reviews|work=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|accessdate=2016-11-14}}</ref>

===Criticism===
Some reviewers and researchers felt that the documentary overstated the amount of opposition Aisholpan faced as a female eagle hunter.<ref>{{cite web|author=Stephen Mulvey|title=Is The Eagle Huntress Really a Documentary?|website=BBC News|date=2017-02-06|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38874266}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Paul Byrnes|title=The Eagle Huntress Review: A Problematic Documentary|website=Sydney Morning Herald|date=2017-03-15|access-date=2017-03-15|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-eagle-huntress-review-a-problematic-documentary-20170315-guydwi.html}}</ref> After historical evidence and facts were published about nomadic steppe women participating in training eagles to hunt from antiquity to the present day,<ref>{{cite web|author=Adrienne Mayor|title=The Eagle Huntress: Ancient Traditions and New Generations|website=Stanford University|format=PDF|date=2016-05-01|url=https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/EagleHuntress2016long.pdf}}</ref> the filmmakers corrected early reports placed in media outlets that Aisholpan was "the only" woman in the world hunting with an eagle.<ref>{{cite web|author=William Kremer|title=A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia|website=BBC News|date=2014-04-14|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26969150}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Andrew Lapin|title=Teenage Eagle Hunter is Mongolia's New Movie Star|website=National Geographic|date=2016-08-04|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/teenage-eagle-huntress-movie-trailer-director-interview/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Jamie Broadnax|title=Otto Bell: The Eagle Huntress|website=Black Girl Nerds|date=2016-10-10|url=https://blackgirlnerds.com/otto-bell-eagle-huntress/}}</ref> A 2014 article by a consultant on the film, Dennis Keen, suggests that women in Aisholpan's region faced a "knee-jerk reaction based on a traditionalist understanding of society and the sexes," such that their achievements "are dismissed by nearly every prominent falconer in Central Asia" because they represented "a serious disturbance in how things are done."<ref>{{cite web|author=Dennis Keen|title=The internet may love eagle huntresses, but the eagle hunters certainly don't|website=The Central Asian Falconry Project|date=2014-04-19|url=http://centralasianfalconry.org/the-internet-may-love-eagle-huntresses-but-the-eagle-hunters-certainly-dont/}}</ref> Aisholpan has described the opposition she faced in her own words.<ref>{{cite web|author=Cara Buckley|title=A Documentary Star is Born: The Girl Who Hunts with Eagles|website=New York Times|date=2016-12-02|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/movies/eagle-huntress-star.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Rama Tampubolon|title=Interview: Aisholpan Nurgaiv and Director Otto Bell Talk to Me About The Eagle Huntress and Girl Power|website=Rama's Screen|date=2016-11-01|url=http://www.ramascreen.com/interview-aisholpan-nurgaiv-and-director-otto-bell-talk-to-me-about-the-eagle-huntress-and-girl-power/}}</ref>

===Legacy===
Aisholpan has stated her desire to study medicine and become a doctor.<ref>{{cite web|author=Stacey Reiss|title=13-Year-Old Eagle Huntress Gives Great Advice for People Too Scared to Follow Their Dreams|website=Harper's Bazaar|date=2016-10-08|url=http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a17866/women-who-dare-eagle-huntress/}}</ref> The filmmakers have made Aisholpan and her family "[[Hollywood accounting|profit participants]]" in the documentary and have established a fund to help pay for Aisholpan’s higher education.<ref>{{cite web|author=Charline Jao|title=Interview: Otto Bell on the Structure of ''The Eagle Huntress'' and Telling Aisholpan's Story|website=The Mary Sue|date=2017-02-01|url=http://www.themarysue.com/interview-otto-bell/}}</ref> The filmmakers also donated the prize money ($3,000) they received from winning Best Documentary at the Hamptons Film Festival to this fund.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rafer Guzmán|title=The Eagle Huntress Wins Best Documentary at Hamptons Film Fest|website=Newsday|location=Long Island, New York|date=2016-10-10|url=http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/the-eagle-huntress-wins-best-documentary-at-hamptons-film-fest-1.12435505}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|3882074|The Eagle Huntress}}
* {{Mojo title|theeaglehuntress|The Eagle Huntress}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|the_eagle_huntress|The Eagle Huntress}}
* {{Metacritic film|the-eagle-huntress|The Eagle Huntress}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-vjf2kTlr8 ''The Eagle Huntress'' – Soaring Cinematography Featurette]
* {{cite web|author=Adrienne Mayor|title=The Eagle Huntress: Ancient Traditions and New Generations|website=Stanford University|format=PDF|date=2016-05-01|url=https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/EagleHuntress2016long.pdf}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eagle Huntress, The}}
[[Category:2010s adventure films]]
[[Category:2010s documentary films]]
[[Category:2010s sports films]]
[[Category:2016 films]]
[[Category:American adventure films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American sports films]]
[[Category:British adventure films]]
[[Category:British documentary films]]
[[Category:British films]]
[[Category:British sports films]]
[[Category:Falconry]]
[[Category:Films set in Mongolia]]
[[Category:Kazakh-language films]]
[[Category:Mongolian films]]
[[Category:Sony Pictures Classics films]]

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