Takoma Park Arts will host a free screening of the documentary film “Nomad Meets the City” on Thursday, November 2.
The film tells the story of a Mongolian family whose lives reveal larger cultural and societal shifts.
Tumurbaatar works tirelessly as a garbage truck driver in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital city, striving to better his daughter’s education and compete in the modern economy. He is torn between life in the city and his home and family in a small rural town as distance and separation take their toll.
Tungaa, Tumurbaatar’s wife, is a rural doctor who helps tend the family herd and maintains her roots. As her husband visits home, he reveals fault lines in their marriage and their cultural identities. While they both speak romantically about retiring as true nomads, she sees what he doesn’t: his nomadic roots have already been lost to the city. Despite all this, they cling to dreams for their children to lead lives they can’t.
Filmmaker Anji Sauvé Clubb will lead a Q&A with the audience following the screening, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Takoma Park Community Center.
Photo: A still of “Nomad Meets the City”, courtesy of the filmmaker