Miles of barren desert provide the backdrop for this surreal compilation of images, as participants descend on the Qatar dunes to take part in a remote falconry tournament. The latest visionary achievement by director Yuri Ancarani (Il Capo, Da Vinci) takes us on another fantastic ride, peeling back the curtain to observe intricate preparations for the event, and even attaching cameras to the birds so that we may soar with them through the air. The film does not dwell on the details involved: where and who are seemingly less important than what we are seeing—and there is plenty to see. A fleet of masked falcons bob their heads in the cabin of a private jet; expensive vehicles backfire and spin their wheels before accelerating off, leaving tire channels in the sand; and a man winds his way through the landscape, driving along with his pet cheetah perched in the front seat. Each bizarre scene seems more unbelievable than the last in this stirring visual essay. ST