State of Dogs is a Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n movie that was released in 1998, directed and written by Peter Brosens and Dorjkhandyn Turmunkh. The film was shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival

Venice Film Festival

The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...

, the 1998 Toronto Film Festival, the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...

, and won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Visions du Réel

Visions du réel

Visions du Réel is an international documentary film festival held in April each year in Nyon, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current name in 1995....

 film festival in Nyon, Switzerland.

Set in Mongolia's capital city, Ulan Bator, the film combines documentary elements with fictional elements in the fragmented, impressionistic and dreamlike story of Baasar, a dog who dies early in the movie — shot by a hunter employed by the city to reduce its dog population, which has more than one dog for each four humans in its population of 800,000.

According to Mongolian legend, a dog (who is prepared) may be reincarnated in its next life as a human, after roaming free for as long as he wants. Baasar roams the memory of his life, uninterested in advancing to a human life.

The film includes brief interludes with a solar eclipse, a segment in which a young man recites poems directly to the camera, and a depiction of modern Mongolian life with undercurrents of mysticism and myth.

Garth Stein

Garth Stein

Garth Stein is an American author and film producer from Seattle, Washington.-Career:Stein earned a B.A. in 1987 from Columbia College of Columbia University and later received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film from the University's School of the Arts. Subsequently, Stein worked as a director,...

, American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and film producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

, was inspired by State of Dogs to write his best selling novel The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a 2008 novel by American author and film producer Garth Stein — told from a dog's point of view. The novel became a New York Times bestseller, has remained on the list for more than 40 weeks, and became a #1 BookSense Pick.-Synopsis:The novel follows the...

.

Awards

• "Grand Prix", Visions du Réel
  Visions du réel
  Visions du Réel is an international documentary film festival held in April each year in Nyon, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current name in 1995....
  
  , Nyon
• "Grand Prix", Graz Biennale für Medien und Architektur
• "Grand Prix", Maremma Doc Festival, in Tuscany
• "Grand Prix" & "Special Jury Award", SEIA, Portugal
• "Critics Award", São Paulo International Film Festival
  São Paulo International Film Festival
  The São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
  
  
• "Best Documentary", Molodist International Film Festival, Kiev
• "FICC Prize", Molodist International Film Festival, Kiev
• "Don Quixote Award," Molodist International Film Festival
• "Best Film Award", Molodist International Film Festival
• "Best Feature Film Award", Gavà International Environmental Film Festival
• "Best Script Award", Györ MediaWave International Festival of Visual Arts, Hungary
• "Special Jury Award", St. Petersburg Message to Man Film Festival
• “Critics Award,” Bodrum Environmental International Film Festival
• “Mention Spéciale du Jury” Strasbourg Semaine du Documentaire de Création Européen
• “European Lianas for Best Documentary” New European Talent 98, Barcelona
• “Silver Award” World Festival of Human and Nature Films, Korea
• “Fonske” KFL (Katholieke Filmliga)