France, May 10 -- The stars of the documentary Undertows: A Tuareg Tale are between 60 and 90 years old - the uncles, friends and role models of the film's director, Intagrist el Ansari, a descendant of the Kel Ansar, the ruling tribe of the Timbuktu region in northern Mali.

Released this week in France, the film is structured as a letter to his son, and traces the history, resistance and culture of the Tuareg people.

Nomads and herders deeply connected to the land, the Tuareg have inhabited the Sahara for centuries. Today, however, their traditional way of life is under threat from political instability, drought and forced settlement.

Les Filles de Illighadad strum out a unique Tuareg sound Traditions under threat

"Clearly, the Tuare...