Starting April 2012 Berlin-based film-makers Andreas Bernhardt and Alexander Krause will undertake an eight-week journey across the revolutionary states of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt on their motorcycles. Their topics are the human rights and the rights of minorities but also the commitment of the Western world in the newly constituted nations.
Their Arab interview partners come from all parts of society, ranging from Facebook activists, dedicated politicians to spokesmen of the fundamentalist scene. The movie will have the mission to grasp a broad image of society beyond the current news coverage from these three very different countries. According to the film-maker's opinion the understanding of Islam and its historic roots is an important aspect to confront western prejudices against muslims. How do tradition and “Enlightenment” go together ? The film-makers will have a German/Arab translation of the Koran in their luggage. It will be a point of reference for a some questions to their interview partners.
A few encounters have been pre-arranged from Germany. Everything else shall be and has to be left to coincidence in order to keep the spirit of adventure alive. It will result in authentic incidents and encounters at the side of the road, on village squares, water wells in oases, in coffee houses next to Tahir square and late-night talks to Bedouins in the desert next to a campfire.
The journey across one of the strangest and most beautiful landscapes of the world on two motorcycles will be the framework of this documentary: the North African desert with its oases. The film-makers will cover 10.000 km, sleeping in tents, only in a few cases in private accommodations. The entire film equipment will stowed on the motorcycles.
HOT SAND AND BURNING HEARTS is planned as a 90-minute movie or TV documentary and will be premiered November 2012.