ÄSSHÄK - GESCHICHTEN AUS DER SAHARA

One man’s search for his lost camel leads this film through the desert. The Tuareg Noehi passes many different places, meeting different people. Like Ibrahim Tshibrit who has dedicated himself to preserving the stories of his tribe and telling them to others. Or the Marabout, tending his ancient hidden mosque. And a young girl on the verge to becoming a radiant and strong Targia, a Tuareg woman.

Although they have always lived in barren places, these nomads have cultivated their love for beauty, music and poetry. "Ässhäk" means a state of mind, which is formed by respect for all life forms, by great patience and noble restraint: "'Ässhäk' is everything that is good for human kind.”

The film celebrates this culture of a people that sustains high ethical and aesthetic standards with a minimum of material culture. It tells of an archaic way of life, the rituals that form it, and the songs that are sung. Always respectfully and never as an invader, Ulrike Koch achieves nearness to the Tuareg by letting them tell their own story.