You’ve probably seen the posters or scrolled past the thumbnail on a streaming app: a young girl with rosy cheeks, standing against a backdrop of jagged, snow-dusted mountains, a massive golden eagle perched on her arm. It looks like a fairytale. But the 2016 documentary The Eagle Huntress is very much real, and honestly, its legacy has only grown more complex and interesting as time has passed.
The film follows Aisholpan Nurgaiv, a 13-year-old Kazakh girl from the Altai Mountains in Mongolia. Her goal? To become the first female in twelve generations of her family to master the ancient art of eagle hunting.
It’s a world of sub-zero temperatures and bone-chilling winds. For centuries, this was a man's game. But Aisholpan, with a quiet, dimpled smile and a weirdly calm sense of bravery, decided she wanted in.
Is The Eagle Huntress Actually Real?
Whenever a documentary looks this beautiful, people get suspicious. Some critics and anthropologists have spent years arguing about how much of the film was staged. Basically, they pointed out that Aisholpan wasn't technically the first female eagle hunter in history (there are records of others), and that some scenes felt a bit "neat" for a raw documentary.
Director Otto Bell has been pretty open about the process, though. He’s talked about how they used drones and "eagle cams" to get those sweeping, cinematic shots. Yeah, some moments might have been reconstructed for the camera, but the core of it—Aisholpan climbing a 60-foot cliff to rescue an eaglet while her father held the rope—that was 100% her.
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The bond between Aisholpan and her father, Nurgaiv, is the real heart of the movie. While the village elders are shown grumbling that "women get too cold" or "women aren't strong enough," her dad just hands her the eagle. It's not a political statement for him; it's just a father supporting his kid.
Why Daisy Ridley and Sia Got Involved
If you recognize the voice narrating the film, that’s because it’s Daisy Ridley. Fresh off her Star Wars fame, she saw a rough cut of the movie and basically begged to be involved. She even became an executive producer.
Then you’ve got the soundtrack. The song "Angel by the Wings" by Sia was written specifically for the film. It’s got that "I can do anything" anthem vibe that made the movie a massive hit in schools and with families.
Where is Aisholpan Now? (Update for 2026)
People always ask what happened to the girl after the credits rolled. She didn't just fade away into the mountains. As of 2026, Aisholpan has grown into a major cultural ambassador for her people.
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After the movie, she received scholarship offers from all over the world, including Harvard and Oxford. Interestingly, she turned them down to stay closer to her roots. She moved to Kazakhstan, her historical homeland, where she’s been studying Kazakh Language and Literature at Suleyman Demirel University in Almaty.
She hasn't put down the glove, either. Aisholpan is currently working on establishing an Eagle Hunter’s Union. Her goal is to create a school where she can teach the traditional skill to both locals and tourists, ensuring the art form doesn't die out with the older generation. She’s gone from being the "first" girl in the competition to being the teacher.
Life in the Altai: The Reality of Eagle Hunting
The movie makes the hunt look majestic, but the reality is gritty.
- The Birds: These aren't pets. Golden eagles are apex predators with a wingspan of up to 7 feet.
- The Weight: Holding a 15-pound bird on your arm for hours while riding a horse through deep snow is exhausting.
- The Cold: We're talking $-40^\circ\text{C}$ temperatures. That's the kind of cold that makes your skin crack and cameras stop working.
- The Release: One of the most emotional parts of the tradition is that after seven years, the hunters release the eagles back into the wild. It’s a way of saying "thank you" to the bird for its service.
The cinematography by Simon Niblett is what really sells the experience. He used custom-built rigs to capture the eagle's-eye view of a hunt. When you see the bird dive at nearly 200 mph toward a fox, you’re seeing one of the fastest maneuvers in the animal kingdom.
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The Impact of the Film
The Eagle Huntress did something weird. It turned a tiny, niche tradition in Western Mongolia into a global symbol of empowerment. Since the film's release, the number of young girls training with eagles in the Bayan-Ölgii province has actually increased.
It also sparked a tourism boom. More people than ever travel to the Golden Eagle Festival in October to see the hunters in person. While some worry this "commercializes" the culture, many locals see it as the only way to keep their nomadic lifestyle viable in a modern world.
If you’re looking for a deep, philosophical exploration of Mongolian history, this might feel a little "popcorn doc" for you. But if you want a story that feels like a punch of pure inspiration, it still hits the mark.
Key Insights for Your Next Watch
If you're planning to watch or re-watch the movie, keep these things in mind to get the most out of it:
- Watch for the "Eagle Cam" shots. They were revolutionary for nature documentaries at the time and still look incredible on a 4K screen.
- Pay attention to the background details. Look at the solar panels on the yurts and the iPhones the kids are using. It’s a fascinating mix of ancient tradition and 21st-century tech.
- Read the subtitles carefully. The dialogue between Aisholpan and her father is where the most authentic, unscripted moments happen.
- Look up the Golden Eagle Festival. If you’re a photographer or a traveler, checking out the real-life event in Mongolia is the natural next step after seeing the film.
The story of Aisholpan isn't just about a girl and a bird. It’s about the fact that sometimes, "tradition" is just a word people use until someone brave enough comes along to change the definition.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
- Check out the photography of Asher Svidensky. He’s the one who first discovered Aisholpan and took the viral photos that led to the movie being made.
- Research the Altai Tavan Bogd National Park. If you want to see the landscape from the movie in person, this is where the heart of the action is.
- Compare with the 2023 documentary Whispers of the Altai. It offers a more academic, less "Hollywood" look at the same region if you want a different perspective.