Zoljargal Purevdash

Zoljargal Purevdash (; born 1990) is a Mongolian filmmaker.

Early life Born in Ulaanbaatar, Purevdash excelled at maths and physics in her youth and earned a scholarship to a prestigious high school, where she joined the drama club. She won another scholarship to study filmmaking at the J. F. Oberlin University in Japan.

Her feature film directorial debut, If Only I Could Hibernate, made its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023, in the Un Certain Regard section. The film was also invited to the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'A Window on Asian Cinema' section where it was screened in October 2023.

In March 2024, the film won both the Grand Prize and the Cineuropa Prize at the 39th Mons Love International Film Festival in Mons, Belgium.

A Sight and Sound review said her first film showed "great ambition and promise".

Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Cannes Film Festival 27 May 2023 Un Certain Regard Zoljargal Purevdash Tokyo FILMeX 26 November 2023 Special Jury Prize (Shared with Critical Zone) Mons Love International Film Festival 16 March 2024 Grand Prize 2017 StairsShort 2021 Naked BulbShort 2023 If Only I Could Hibernate