Hatifa is tired of her difficult fate and escapes from the place of her enslavement, a quarry in the desert. There she wanders around in freedom, but ultimately helpless, without water or food. Shortly before dying of thirst, she is saved by the sage Simsal, who is traveling with a caravan of the merchant Ganem. Hatifa quickly makes many friends, including the young servant Hodja. Only to him she confides her secret. The girl had to keep the fact that she was a slave to herself. After all, anyone who helps escaped slaves is mercilessly threatened with the death penalty. Out of consideration for the caravan, they both flee, but are soon picked up by Ganem. When he realizes that he can make a lot of money with Hatifa, he sells her again to a quarry.
Cinematography
The desert as character—beautiful, pitiless, inescapable.
Acting
Gisela Büttner's face holds entire wordless tragedies.
Writing
The cruel symmetry of rescue becoming recapture.
Director
Siegfried Hartmann
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made in East Germany (DEFA), this rare GDR desert epic used North African locations—unusual for Soviet-bloc cinema's typically insular productions.
Director Hartmann reportedly fought the bleak ending; studio insisted on 'realism' over hope. The compromise? No compromise—it's crushing.
XG
