Ever since its shift toward liberalism after the Cold War, Mongolia has opened up its mines in the Gobi desert for exploitation — resulting in an onslaught of truck convoys transporting Mongolian coal to China. Within this arduous, predominantly-male line of work, Maikhuu — a former taxi driver and hairdresser — stands alone as one of the only female truck drivers working the mining boom. A single mother, Maikhuu resorts to looking after her young children’s financial future and well-being by working extensive seasons along the unforgiving Gobi desert, all while her sister cares for her young children back home. As an outspoken and resilient driver, Maikhuu contends not just with severe droughts impacting the desert landscape, but also deadly accidents among the truck drivers as well as incessant competition from her dominating male peers. Throughout it all, Maikhuu exerts a tenacity in her arduous work and outlook on life.

Khoroldorj Choijoovanchig’s Colors of White Rock delivers expansive and cinematic filmmaking in its potent portrait of Maikhuu and the irrepressible environment that she indomitably navigates. With longstanding access into her life — and employing Maikhuu’s intimate and candid ruminations as the driving force of the film — Choijoovanchig succeeds at a deeply immersive work that presents the striking human and environmental costs of “Minegolia.”—Jose Rodriguez