Pluto Film has saddled up “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” and shipped it out for its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. The film’s trailer debuts here (above).

The film, directed by Xiaoxuan Jiang and selected for the Venice Days section, is inspired by true events and her real-life friend Saina: a Mongolian shepherd who decided to become a horse rider and eventually became the protagonist.

“Before I started writing, I was at a point in my film career where I was wondering how I could make the films I wanted to make and still have a sustainable, healthy career,” she told Variety.

“Some of my friends started doing commercials for money, so I know that struggle of deciding whether or not to keep doing something even though you’re not getting anything in return. That dichotomy between a role that I have to ‘perform’ and the desire to be my true self… I felt that too.”