Wanderers of the Desert

Made in 1984, this is the first film in Nacer Khemir's desert trilogy. A traveling writer and teller of fables, here Nacer applies his age-old skills to film, the first in his highly regarded Desert Trilogy that includes the Dove's Lost Necklace and Bab'Aziz - the Prince Who Contemplated His Soul. Khemir creates an exotic world when a young teacher arrives to take over a school isolated in the shimmering desert. Legendary figures materialize out of wells and the desert itself, groups of children hurry through a labyrinth of underground corridors, the teacher is whisked away to a mysterious rendezvous and never returns. Nothing is explained. Legend, tradition and fate hang heavily over this community and he does so with a richly expressive visual style aided by superb use of color.