The film follows rising Kok-Boru player Ishaak Belbolotov and the Kyrgyz National Team as they train in the mountains ahead of a highly anticipated showdown with Kazakhstan– their arch-rival. 

Through Ishaak's journey from intensive preparation to international competition and back to his family's horse farm, the documentary explores what it means to come of age while representing both a nation and a centuries-old nomadic heritage.

Set against the backdrop of the World Nomad Games, the film is an intimate portrait of identity, tradition….and the enduring relationship between people, nature, and homeland.

Spectators describe the World Nomad Games as “….a cross between the Olympics and 

Medieval Times, plus a dose of the Dothraki from Game of Thrones.” Occurring every two years, this is the biggest sporting event you’ve never heard of, featuring the oldest sports in history.

Events include:

• A long-distance horse race of more than 40 miles.
• A centuries old game where a man on horseback chases a woman on horseback

to steal a kiss. If the man fails before a certain point, she turns to chase him with

a giant whip.

• Another sport involves a precision test of hawking, with hawks being called from

over 500 meters.

The cultural and national significance of Kok-Boru in Central Asia can’t be overstated. Fans travel from countries all over the region to watch their country compete. 

This year, one million people are expected to attend the Games, mostly in anticipation of the final Kok-Boru championship.

Ishaak Belbolotov hails from a family legacy of Kok-Boru players— his Grandfather and Father were both legendary players too.

He's regularly stopped in the streets in Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyzstan) to be photographed with fans. He's revered as the country's rising star-- their best defence against Russian and Kazakh rival teams.

But when he’s not competing and isn't in the capital with his team, life is a lot quieter for Ishaak. 

In the idyllic countryside of Kyrgyzstan, he spends his breaks from the sport working on his family’s horse milk farm, tending to animals and making the Kyrgyz delicacy of fermented horse milk to sell at local markets. 

He gets recognized there, too, but he doesn’t receive it the same way. 

Ishaak and his younger brother at home on their family's horse farm [Photos taken by Filmmaker with consent from family]

[Photos taken by Filmmaker with consent from family]

There’s an ancient rivalry between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that’s only deepened in recent years over economic and political tensions with Russia and the EU.

This rivalry extends to Kok-Boru too, as both countries value it as a source of national pride.  

During major tournaments, high-stakes finals between the two countries have resulted in intense on-field brawls, rule violations and violent clashes between fans.

Likely for both creative and practical reasons. But this is a challenge we see as an opportunity to embrace.

There also hasn’t been a documentary that follows the dreams and turbulence of being a Kyrgyz twenty-something first, and an athlete second.

In an anti-Nat-Geo approach, our visual capture is playful, charged and deeply personal. Sports sequences will be captured like a high-octane music video or Hollywood climax scene. 

Interviews are never talking-head, but much more informal, like we’re just hanging out and chatting with the team. The result is a film that introduces Kok-Boru in an approach that’s grounded in the athlete’s subjectivity and experience. 

Number One Nomad is a short documentary shot on 35mm film that follows rising Kok-Boru player Ishaak Belbolotov and the Kyrgyz National Team as they prepare for the 2026 World Nomad Games. Through Ishaak's journey from intensive mountain training to the international competition and back to his family's horse farm, the film explores coming of age while carrying the weight of one of the world's oldest sporting traditions. Against the backdrop of a 5,000-year-old game and an enduring rivalry with Kazakhstan, the documentary examines identity, national pride, and the relationship between people, horses, and homeland.

We believe this documentary needs to be made to show a sport and way of life western audiences haven't seen, in a way it hasn't been presented before. Kok-Boru deserves to be documented from the perspective of the athletes who live it, rather than as an anthropological curiosity. While the World Nomad Games attract hundreds of thousands of spectators, there has never been a documentary shot on 35mm film that follows this community through such a personal, character-driven lens. Our approach is energetic, intimate, and cinematic, prioritizing the dreams, pressures, and humanity of a young Kyrgyz athlete over spectacle alone. As globalization and climate change continue to reshape nomadic cultures, preserving these stories has never been more important

When the Director was growing up in China, she visited the province of Xinjiang with her family and witnessed her very first Kok-Boru game at the age of nine. 

Though no one would explain what the game was…or what the ball was made of.. … the athleticism and strength of the players left an impact on her. Now, having shot documentaries all over the world on film, it feels full-circle to return to Asia and capture this sacred sport.

In July of 2026, Ishak and the other 12 members of the Kyrgyz team will begin an intensive training camp in the countryside of Kyrgyzstan.

The documentary team will embed ourselves with the team during the last weeks of the training camp in August. At the training camp, we’ll follow the coming-of-age of Ishak and the other youngest players on the team as they prepare for the biggest competition of their lives. 

After the training is complete, we’ll follow the team through the Games themselves in an intimate look at the pressure and stakes the team faces. 

Once the games are complete, win or lose, we’ll follow Ishaak back to his countryside home… back to horse milk and marketplaces, leaving the roaring crowds far behind in the capital. 

We are asking for help to raise a total of $40000 to go towards production and post-production

What we are raising money for: 

Shooting crew labor: $12000

Travel+Logistics: $8000

Camera Rentals and film stock $9000

Post production: $800

Contingency and insurance: $3000

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