In her latest movie, Black Milk, Mongolian-German filmmaker Uisenma Borchu tells the story of two sisters who meet after decades of separation in Mongolia. The culture clashes cause tension, even though the bond between the sisters is strong. Brochu plays one of the sisters, Wessi. She tells HFPA journalist Barbara Gasser that she has always been an observer and that helps with filmmaking. “It comes automatically when I am interested in something, in a person or a situation, then I think I can very naturally come to this environment and I speak to them. Of course, it was helping that I’m also speaking Mongolian.”

She also worked with non-actors who were Nomads and decided to keep the film crew very small. “I didn’t want to overwhelm Nomads. For me, it was much better just to keep it simple and small. I do know from experience, that they just feel better when you don’t make a big fuss about something, and you don’t take yourself so seriously, and when you are just being honest with them. It helps to create a very peaceful and honest situation. And that’s what we kept doing the whole time in the Gobi Desert.”

Borchu moved to Eastern Germany when she was five years old. She studied directing at the University of TV and Film in Munich. In her movies, she wants to show something that is uncomfortable, not by force, but naturally. “It’s very hard to express your thoughts. And then when you do it with intimate or uncomfortable thoughts with your own side of life, then that is already something very strong and the audience will at some point understand, and there will be definitely a dialogue.”

Listen to the podcast and hear how she feels being named Mongolian Woman of the Year; what Chloé Zhao’s success means to other Asian directors; what happened when she tried to film a scene with a wolf; what does the desert mean to her; how she balances her life in Munich; how the global pandemic affected her; how she immigrated from the Gobi Desert to Eastern Germany and how was her upbringing in Germany; how it is working with her partner, cinematographer and producer Sven Zellner; how she became a filmmaker; why she likes editing; which filmmakers inspire her; how was her residency in Los Angeles and what she liked about the city; where she met Snoop Dogg; and what she is doing now.