(2008)

Directed by - Dearbhla Glynn

Produced by - Vaness Gildea

Cinematography - Dearbhla Glynn & Paddy Jordan

Edited by - Jim Bruce

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A music documentary culminating in a unique performance at the legendary 'FESTIVAL AU DESERT' featuring musicians LIAM Ó MAONLAÍ & PADDY KEENAN, AFEL BOCOUM & ALKIBAR, TOUMANI DIABATÉ, TINARIWEN, TARTIT & ALI FARKA TOURÉ

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Irish musicians Liam Ó Maonlaí (The Hothouse Flowers) and Paddy Keenan (The Bothy Band), who was raised in the traveller community, embark on a journey covering thousands of miles from Bamako in the south to Timbuktu, from where they enter the Sahara.

Their journey takes them along the river Niger, stopping in villages and river towns such as Mopti and Djenné, playing instruments such as the harp, bodhrán, whistles and Uilleann pipes with local musicians including Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté, Tinariwen, and Tartit. The film highlights the many similarities between Malian and Irish music, including circular repetitive rhythms, similar instruments (i.e. the Kora and the harp, the gourd and the bodhrán) and a similar style of singing (Griot & Sean Nós).

Their ultimate destination is Essakane, 90 km outside of Timbuktu, where they performed to an audience of thousands of Tuareg at the world's most remote music festival, Festival au Désert.