When jihadists seized control of northern Mali in March 2012 and burned more than 4,000 priceless ancient manuscripts from the former university city of Timbuktu, several courageous people risked their lives: In dangerous secret operations, they smuggled the transcripts to safety and thus preserved the country’s unique cultural heritage.

WRITER: Lutz Gregor     DIRECTOR: Lutz Gregor, Aboubacar Gakou     CAMERA: Michael Kern, Abdallah Coulibaly, Thomas Kutschker     EDITOR: Igor Garbuzenko, Josef van Ooyen     MUSIC: James Reynolds     COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Sabine Bubeck-Paaz