The Challenge (2016) Apr 2026

The film follows a group of men as they travel from their urban lifestyles into the glaring light of the desert landscape for a falconry tournament. The "story" is told through a series of striking, high-definition images that highlight the intersection of 4,000-year-old traditions and hyper-modern technology:

: Beyond falconry, the weekend is filled with games of speed and spectacle. SUVs race up massive sand dunes, while a pet cheetah rides in the passenger seat of a Lamborghini roaring across the sand. The Challenge (2016)

You can view more about the film's production and style on the Official Yuri Ancarani Website or watch the trailer on the Film Society YouTube Channel . The Challenge (2016) The film follows a group of men as

Rather than using a scripted narrative, Ancarani spent three years researching this world to create an "anthropology of a contemporary desert". The film serves as a portrait of a specific state of consciousness—one where gold-plated Harleys, prayer mats, and ancient hunting rituals coexist in a boundless, exclusively male landscape. You can view more about the film's production

: The central ritual is the falconry contest, where the goal is for a falcon to catch a pigeon as quickly as possible. During the event, the men sit in high-tech tents, checking their phones and watching the action on giant screens via "falcon-cams" attached to the birds' bodies. Thematic Focus

: Men in white robes transport their prized hunting falcons—some worth tens of thousands of dollars—on private jets where the birds have their own dedicated seats.