The Holy Goats (2018)

A major drought in West Africa has forced millions of parents to send their children to the cities and in the overcrowded Quranic schools or "daaras". Those children are called the talibés. Most of them spend their days begging on the streets and collecting pennies, sugar, and rice. Many are exposed to all sorts of dangers from physical and sexual abuse to kidnapping. The Holy Goats follows the story of Ousmane, a talibé in Saint Louis as he struggles on a daily basis, while away from his mother. A parallel narrative explores a bold environmental solution with ecologist Alan Savory that can reverse desertification using livestock.