NATURE . WILDLIFE

DUST AND STRIPES

52' (ENG, GER, SPA)

When thunderclouds begin to gather over Botswana’s Kalahari each year, 20,000 zebras get itchy feet. As the first fat raindrops hit the dust, southern Africa’s biggest animal migration gets under way.

In a never-ending quest for grass and water, the striped herds undertake an annual epic trek across the vast lunar landscape of the Kalahari’s Makgadikgadi Pans. Most of the year, the Makgadikgadi is an inhospitable wasteland of windswept, salt-encrusted pans. For the area’s water-dependent zebra, the Boteti River on the western edge of the pans is a dry-season lifeline. However, it is also a death trap, with lions waiting in ambush and crocodiles lurking in dark riverside caves.

‘Dust and Stripes’ tells the story of this spectacular annual migration through the eyes of a single zebra family. Documenting their journey across this otherworldly landscape, ranging from vast lunar-like pans to rolling grasslands, the film explores the wonder of this great wilderness and pays tribute to its tenacious inhabitants.