The story takes place in the present time, in the immense semi-desert of the Sahel region of Niger. It presents a world governed by rules inconceivable by Western culture. Slavery is supposed to belong to the remote past, and yet in Sahel it is still a way of life. This state of affairs is made possible by two perpetual principles: the immutability of the social position and the loyalty to an extremely rigorous form of Islam.
The film is built around two human adventures. Tumajet is 26. She has just run away from the Tuareg master to whom she was enslaved since early childhood. Her daughter though has remained in her former master's servitude. Boulboulou is 20 and she has fled the cruelty of her Arab master two years ago, but she still fears his revenge. Both women are black. They share the courage of having rebelled against slavery. Timidria, a local alliance, will help them confront their former masters.
The film follows the camel trails across the desert to enter the heart of an unknown world: the world of slavery and of the complex relationships between masters and slaves.

Director: Bernard Debord
Country: France
Year: 2001
Length: 84 min & 52 min