Documentary | 55' | 2007 | color | 4/3 | Betacam Digital
Original version: French, Mongolian
Subtitles: French, English

This film is a documentary chronicle, exposing the adventures of a theatre company made up of European and Mongolian actors.

The theatre company “mondes contraires”, which means “opposite worlds”, intends on exploring cultural differences through the medium of theatrical expression. Their dream is to produce a play based on Gottfried Keller’s “Romeo und Juliette auf dem Dorf” together with Mongolian actors, to be presented on the Mongolian steppe in the traditional itinerant way of the nomads.

As things develop, the good intentions of the small troupe start turning sour. Confronted by the social, cultural and economic realities of a country in full decline, the Mongolian actors have decidedly different perspectives to that of their European counterparts, making it difficult for any form of complicity between the two. Intolerence, tensions and misunderstandings, often comical, put the project under extreme pressure. Can the mix of theatre and the magic of the steppe enable opposing universes to reconcile their differences?

With Le Collectif des Mondes Contraires Direction, cinematography and sound Camille Cottagnoud Music Christophe Erard, Zorrigo Bastotch Editing Bruno Saparelli Sound mix Mike Lichtman, Studio Sysex Production Climage – Stéphane Goël CoproductionTélévision Suisse Romande (TSR) – Irène Challand, Gaspard Lamunière Financial support Fondation Vaudoise pour le Cinéma, Canton du Valais, Ville de Sion, Fonds Regio Films. World sales Climage

Festivals
Visions du réel, International Film Festival, Nyon.