26 February 2008                                                     For Immediate Release

From award-winning film maker Nacer Khemir, the director of Bab’Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul. The second film in Nacer Khemir’s Desert Trilogy, available for the first time on DVD!

Khemir’s first film, Les Baliseurs du Désert (Wanderers of the Desert), was awarded Grand Prix of the Festival des Trois Continents in 1984, and was followed by Le Collier Perdu de la Colombe (The Dove’s Lost Necklace), which won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno in 1991. Wanderers of the Desert and The Dove’s Lost Necklace are parts one and two, respectively, of the Desert Trilogy of which Bab’Aziz is the final film.

Coming to DVD March 25, 2008.

The Dove’s Lost Necklace
1991 | Drama | 90 Minutes | Tunisia

Directed By: Nacer Khemir Audio: Arabic | Subtitles: English

This second feature in Nacer Khemir’s Desert Trilogy is a visually ravishing folktale reminiscent of “The Thousand and One Nights.”

The story revolves around Hassan, who is studying Arabic calligraphy from a grand master. Coming across a fragment of manuscript, Hassan goes in search of the missing pieces, believing that once he finds them, he will learn the secrets of love. With the help of Zin, a lovers’ go-between, he meets the beautiful Aziz, Princess of Samarkand. After encountering wars, a battle between false prophets and an ancient curse, he learns that an entire lifetime would not suffice for him to learn the many dimensions of love.

Tunisian director Nacer Khemir, also a poet, painter and professional storyteller, notes:
“The film takes place in Moslem Andalusia of the 11th century. But it’s not a question of reconstituting a given time and place, but rather of summoning up the reflection of a forgotten garden, and out of a yearning for peace, so difficult to protect from barbarians and from destructive fanaticisms. Andalusia has been the meeting place of many cultures, a living dialogue of the peoples and religions whose traces can still be deciphered in texts, music and gardens all the way from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. This is not an Andalusian love story, but Andalusia as the very essence of love, through its perfumes, poetry and gardens.”