• Director(s):

    SANTANTONIO (GILLES)

  • Producer(s):

    ARTE FRANCE, FILMS DU MILLE PATTES (LES)

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2004

  • Language(s):

    German, French

  • Rights:

    NON-THEATRICAL, TV, DVD, INTERNET

Monique Brandily, doctorate in ethnomusicology, has decided to track down a song she recorded in the Sahara forty years ago. She is accompanied on her quest by the nomads of the Sahara, travelling the Tenere, Air and Djado caravan routes in search of adventure, knowledge and a dream.

She works for the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) and is based at the Laboratory of Ethnomusicology of the Museum of Man, in Paris. Since her first field-trip to Africa in 1961, she has led numerous research expeditions to countries such as Chad, Libya, Niger and Cameroon.
Over the years, Brandily has become a custodian of the collective memory of all the peoples she has spent time with. She is almost like one of their hereditary bards - a combination of storyteller, genealogist, historian, singer and musician - and she is the only person now capable of explaining the significance of the rhythms, melodies and songs of the desert.
Today, Brandily has decided to make yet another journey into the desert of deserts, in the hope of tracking down a song she recorded in the Sahara forty years ago and has never heard since. She is accompanied on her quest by the nomads of the Sahara - the Peul, Tuareg and Tubu - travelling the Tenere, Air and Djado caravan routes in search of adventure, knowledge and a dream.