Falconry has a history that stretches back over 40 centuries. In the West it was a prevailing passion of the medieval aristocracy, but its prestige continues undiminished in contemporary Arab culture...
查看全部
Falconry has a history that stretches back over 40 centuries. In the West it was a prevailing passion of the medieval aristocracy, but its prestige continues undiminished in contemporary Arab culture. Three years of observing this form of hunting in the field have made it possible to capture the spirit of a tradition that today allows its practitioners to keep a close rapport with the desert, despite their predominantly urban lifestyle. Our guide to how they cross that threshold is a falconer taking his birds to compete in a tournament in Qatar. The film recounts a strange kind of “desert weekend”, in which technological and anthropological microcosms hang in the air, like the falcon, drifting on the irreversible currents of images.
Focused on the world of wealthy Qatari sheikhs with a passion for amateur falconry, 'The Challenge' combines cinematic beauty with rare access and trailblazing form. Here, the opulence of Qatar is on full display, as the men race SUVs up and down sand dunes, fly their prized falcons around on private jets, and take their pet cheetah out for desert spins in their souped-up Lamborghini.