GLOBAL CULTURES: IRON WINTER + Q&A 31 JAN 2026

Join us for a one-off screening of Iron Winter at Jesus College, Cambridge. Following the film, Prajakti Kalra, Researcher for the Cambridge Central Asia Forum, based at Jesus College, will be in conversation with Gerelsuren Ganbold, Chairwoman, Cambridge Mongolian Cultural Society, and Joseph Bristley, Research Associate, Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU). Topics of discussion are expected to cover the importance of the horse in national identity, history, urbanisation and the steppe, climate change and its impact on Mongolia and this shared identity. Tickets are available below.

IRON WINTER 2025, 89 mins (12A)

Directed by: Kasimir Burgess

Saturday 31 January @ 2pm
(introduction by Nicole Lee, Co-President, Film@Jesus, and post-screening discussion led by Prajakti Kalra, Researcher, Cambridge Central Asia Forum)

In Mongolia’s coldest valley, horses mean life. But in the Iron Winter, nothing can survive alone. For countless generations, the herders of the Tsakhir Valley have protected their horses from ferocious arctic storms by amassing a giant winter herd, nominating their bravest young men to protect it. The daring tradition served as a brutal coming-of-age ritual, until five years ago, when, under increasing environmental pressure, it abruptly ended. Fearful about the loss of culture, elders soon vowed to revive it. And two young friends were handed the daunting responsibility to not only protect the valley’s herd — but to save its most sacred practice. For four months, the boys battle Mongolia’s deadliest winter on record, testing friendship and faith in a fight to keep 2000 horses alive, and preserve an ancient way of life.

About Prajakti Kalra

Prajakti Kalra is a Research Officer with the Cambridge Central Asia Forum. She was an affiliated lecturer in the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge until October 2023. She was working on the RCUK-funded GCRF COMPASS grant as an Events and Communications Officer in the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge until 2021. She worked in the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge as the MPhil Coordinator and Lead from 2021-2024. She is currently the Research Networks Manager in Wolfson College, where she is responsible for the intellectual programme of the College. She plays a pivotal role in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing the college’s research initiatives.

She has trained as a historian, political scientist and psychologist. Her interests are in the areas of the history of the Mongol Empire and Central Asia. She has worked extensively on regional and international organisations (OSCE, OIC, SCO, Eurasian Economic Union and the OBOR). Her focus is on building avenues of communication and exchanges based on historical precedents and bringing local narratives into global speak in order to best facilitate interaction and knowledge production.

Her book, ‘The Silk Road and the Political Economy of the Mongol Empire’ came out in 2018 (Routledge). Other publications include ‘Asiatic Roots and the Rootedness of the Eurasian Project’ (in ‘The Eurasian project and Europe: Regional Discontinuities and Geopolitics’, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) and ‘Uzbek Relations with the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in modern and pre-modern times,’ (in Russia and CIS Relations with the Gulf Region Current Trends in Political and Economic Dynamics, Gulf Research Centre, 2009). She is the research, administrative and social coordinator for the Cambridge Central Asia Forum.

About Gerelsuren Ganbold
Gerelsuren Ganbold is the Chairwoman of the Cambridge Mongolian Cultural Society. She is a social researcher and anthropologist who has been working as a manager and program implementer in the field of culture and art in Mongolia for more than 10 years. She has worked as an assistant researcher on social science research projects and has experience as a short film producer. She has worked as a research assistant on the project “Resource Frontiers: Water Management of Transboundary Asian Rivers Using the Selenge River as an Example,” implemented by the Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies Unit (MIASU) at the University of Cambridge.

About Joseph Bristley
Joseph Bristley is a Research Associate at MIASU, working on the ESRC-funded project ‘Resource frontiers: managing water on a trans-border Asian river’. He is responsible for carrying out project research in Mongolia, where he has worked since 2013. Aside from Joseph’s current research on the relation between international law and water resource management, he is also interested in Mongolian pastoral economies. Based on previous PhD research (UCL, 2017), he has published on social aspects of money, number and ideologies of abundance, new debt relations, and (jointly) mountain sacrifices.

“One of the most visually striking documentaries in recent years”
International Documentary Association

“This sensitive documentary studies this humanitarian crisis through the experiences of two young herders tasked with safeguarding 1,000 horses over four months, effectively highlighting both the beauty and the brutality of a nomadic lifestyle increasingly under threat.”
ScreenDaily

“Bursting from the icy expanses of Mongolia’s Tsakhir Valley, Burgess has created a formidable documentary that fuses elemental landscape, cultural transmission, and climate urgencies into an immersive cinematic expedition”
Contemporary Lynx | 10 Films Worth Your Attention at Cameraimage 2025

“Crafted with gentle precision and stunning imagery, the story grips viewers, urging reflection on climate change, migration, and the resilience of culture at civilization’s edge. For this outstanding cinematic achievement, the grand prize is awarded to Iron Winter .”
BANFF Mountain Film Competition

FINDING THE VENUE

This event will take place in West Court, Jesus College. The pedestrian entrance can be accessed from Jesus Lane. On arrival, you will be directed to the screening hall. Please see the detailed map below for further information.

WITH THANKS TO

This event is part of Panorama’s partnership with Jesus College, Cambridge, co-hosted by the Cambridge Central Asia Forum and Global Cultures at the College.

Global Cultures at Jesus College is produced by Panorama and led by Director Matthew Webb. Its goal is to contribute to Cambridge city beyond our walls, offering unique cultural moments with world-class figures through its regular events, which are open to all. In the last year alone, we have featured master craftspeople, Noh theatre mask makers, National Geographic photographers, and film directors, producers and talent. Monthly events throughout the year will provide many opportunities for you to participate.

The Cambridge Central Asia Forum (CCAF) is an interdisciplinary forum, based at Jesus College, which collates Cambridge’s scholarly activities in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as Russia, the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in China, Iran and Afghanistan. CCAF affiliated researchers and students have been involved in field-based research in this part of the world since 1996.

Support

If you have any questions about tickets, ticketing, or the event in general, please do write to us via [email protected], and we’ll be in touch.