Synopsis
HERDERS – GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH follows five herders and their families in Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Uganda, India and Germany throughout the seasons. For months they trek through changing landscapes with their herds, living only from what nature provides. It is a life far from the romantic picture we have, a life under harsh conditions, in direct contact with nature and its extreme elements – birth, death, storm and sun, rain and drought are fundamental parts of their lives. HERDERS tells the story of their struggles for survival. Their animals are partners, even friends.
HERDERS – GUARDIANS OF THE EARTH is a graceful and moving meditation on a disappearing life form. Tender and unsentimental at the same time. In landscapes of remarkable size and beauty, the film portrays the lives of the often invisible and marginalised pastoralist cultures that exist throughout the world. The film captures the beauty and hardship of this dying way of life, explores the deep and ancient union between people and animals, and tells of a way of food production and a way of life that gives more back to the nature and to humanity than what it takes away. There is a wisdom in the ancient practices of nomadic pastoralism that deserves to be preserved and protected. Time for a tribute. And a chance to rethink.
