Award: Palme dog 2005 (best dog-actor of the year: Zochor).
Official submission of Mongolia for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 78th Academy Awards in 2006.
In an interview with the Dutch Filmkrant magazine, director Byambasuren Davaa said that, to ensure a completely believable dynamic between the leading characters, she had to find a real family of non-professional actors. More than twenty families ended up being interviewed. The intimate interaction resulted in some spontaneous shots, like the scene with the Buddha figurines, which occurred because the children didn't have any real toys.
According to director Byambasuren Davaa in the Dutch Filmkrant magazine, for a feature film like this with a prominent animal, at least two of them are needed which look alike, but preferably three or four. She found two identical puppies, though just one had a dark spot on its back, which would have to be painted on the other one. But after two months, one dog died. A replacement was finally found, but one turned out to grow in height, while the other grew in length. Fortunately, the single dog she was able to use was perfect for the role.
French visa # 114668.