Documentary · 2020/2022

Herders – Guardians of the Earth

📅 2020/2022 ⏱️ 5 × 26 min / 1 × 90 min 🎬 Director: Mark Michel 🌍 World Sales: Albatross Worldsales

Synopsis

GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH follows five herding families in Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Uganda, India and Germany through the seasons. For months at a time they travel with their herds through changing landscapes, living only from what nature provides. It is a life far removed from romantic ideals – a life lived under harsh conditions, in direct contact with nature and its extremes. Birth, death, storm and sun, rain and drought are elemental parts of their daily existence. The film tells the story of their struggle to survive. Their animals are partners – indeed, friends.

GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH is a tender and moving meditation on a disappearing way of life – gentle yet unsentimental. Set in landscapes of remarkable scale and beauty, the film portrays the often invisible and marginalised herding cultures found across the world. It captures the beauty and hardship of this dying way of life, explores the deep and ancient bond between humans and animals, and tells of a form of food production that gives back more to nature and humanity than it takes. In the millennia-old practices of nomadism lies a wisdom worth preserving and protecting. Time for recognition. And an opportunity to rethink.

Trailer

Cast & Crew

Director & Writer:
Mark Michel
Cinematography:
Ines Thomsen, Mitja Hagelüken, Johannes Praus
Editor:
Steffen Werner
Sound:
Jens Mattner
Production:
Jürgen Kleinig, Neue Celluloid Fabrik
Editorial:
SWR / ARTE
Funding:
Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung MDM

Festivals & Awards

  • Horst-Stern Prize 2024 – Best Nature Film
  • Nomination German Nature Film Award 2023
  • Darßer NaturfilmFestival 2024
  • SWR DOKUFESTIVAL NaturVision

Broadcast on ARTE

01 Feb 2021, 17:20: Rajasthan
02 Feb 2021, 17:20: Uganda
03 Feb 2021, 17:20: Kyrgyzstan
04 Feb 2021, 17:20: Brandenburg
05 Feb 2021, 17:20: Peru

Film Stills

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Guardians of the Earth - Film Poster