A love apart

In a few days, teenager Rhaissa, a nomadic Tuareg from Niger, will marry a man she has never met. After the wedding, everything will change. This documentary follows Rhaissa as she enjoys her last few days of girlhood and navigates the long marriage ceremony. By engraining herself in the Tuareg community, filmmaker Bettina Hansen discretely captures their sense of values and perspective on love.

Historic Interest

The Tuareg are a Berber nomadic pastoralist people. They are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa.They call themselves variously Kel Tamasheq or Kel Tamajaq. The Tuareg today are found mostly in West Africa, some historians claim they progressively moved South over the last 2000 years. They were once nomads throughout the Sahara. They have a little-used but ancient script known as the Tifinagh.

Social Interest

The Tuareg consider marriage as a private institution. Other people are not to interfere with a couple’s marriage. Punishment for men or women who are unfaithful is uncommon. Tuareg are not supposed to have more than one life partner: a love affair is practically equal to an engagement, and once a couple is recognized, the two people are supposed to get married. It is highly unusual for anyone to remain single.