A journey into the heart of the Sinai desert, where the last surviving herbalist keeps ancient ways of desert healing alive. A tale of two endearing mountain dwellers, Dr. Ahmed and Amariya, two robust characters who liven up a culture forgotten by erratic dreams of modernization.
Produced by Irish film-maker Bryony Dunne, The Orchard Keepers is the result of a personal story of discovery throughout one year spent living with the Gabaliya tribe in the Egyptian desert.
The film turns these gardens into the metaphor of a timeless stability in the midst of crises, in a context where volatility is the only certain thing. “Their hands set deep in the earth, The Orchard Keepers locate themselves at odds with modernity, and at an opposite extreme to the comfortable daily reality of most viewers,” the filmmaker says.
For more information: Visit The Orchard Keepers’ website.