ICYMI: Australia has officially selected leading filmmaker Gabrielle Brady’s documentary The Wolves Always Come at Night as the country’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards. Just casually.
But this isn’t just any film. The Mongolian-language film, which will also run for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category, is a multinational co-production between Australia, Germany, and Mongolia, delicately follows Mongolian herders Davaaseuren Dagvasuren and Otgonzaya Dashzeveg (Daava and Zaya), who leave their lives as shepherds behind and relocate to Ulaanbaatar after their livelihood is disrupted by the impacts of climate change.
So, what first drew Brady to such a unique story? “I had been researching on the story for many years. It dates back all the way to 2008 when I lived in Mongolia for a couple of years. And in that time I was spending a lot of time living with herders in the countryside,” she tells Missing Perspectives.
That connection deepened through a conversation with her producer, Ariana. “She was describing to me the feeling of, you know, how in a way she feels as though for her it’s like being inside of a wave — you can’t see in front of you because you’re inside of the water — this phenomenon of nomadic herders moving from the countryside to the city,” Brady says. “So we talked about how it would be if we came together and kind of created this film, from an outside perspective and an insider perspective. That was really where the collaboration began and the idea for making the film.”
When the team met Daava and Zaya, Brady says it was “absolutely clear” that the dynamic and working relationship would be collaborative. The duo ultimately co-wrote the film with Brady – a rare and powerful act of shared storytelling.
“They were interviewing us to make sure we were the right people to tell their story. As a director, that’s a great sign because it means that you have a creative collaborator,” says Brady.
Despite being deeply local, the film’s themes are universal. When Brady screened it in her hometown of Bathurst, she didn’t know how the community would react.
“What I found was that there was such a deep connection with the film,” she says, describing the reaction from local farmers, cowboys, and cowgirls. “I was really moved to see a couple of cowboys in tears.”
After its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2025, the documentary being selected for the Oscars is a moment of huge global recognition. However, for Brady, it’s about far more than prestige and more about platforming important conversations.
“Being selected is a huge recognition,” she says. “I think for me, a big part of it is that it creates more pathway to audience… suddenly we’ve got more cinemas, more people inside of cinemas and I’m just a huge champion of the physical experience of going and watching a film in a collective space.
“It’s my happy place and it’s really what I believe in. I think there’s nothing like it and it brings a kind of togetherness and can share the weight, especially with these kind of stories,” she adds.
“With our film, at the heart of it is the uncontrollable changes in nature and the effects that we are seeing with climate change. And I think to see that in a collective and have the chance to discuss it afterwards and feel some togetherness, it’s only a good thing… it moves me that the film’s being acknowledged and recognised in that way.”
Brady’s documentary is a quietly powerful story about climate, collaboration, and connection that’s a must-watch – and now, potentially, an Oscar contender.
Watch the trailer for The Wolves Always Come At Night below:
Top photo source: Madman Films and Gabrielle Brady Official Website (with additional design by Missing Perspectives)