Wildcards - Ik ben niet dood, ik slaap

The donkey occupies a special place in Peru, and not only because the animal can carry heavy loads. According to a Peruvian piece of wisdom, a deceased person’s soul returns in the form of a donkey. To an Afro-Peruvian musician, a donkey jaw, which is very carefully unearthed in one scene, is an important percussion instrument. The donkey is honoured with beautiful images and tender close-ups. We see them carry those heavy loads, but also roam around freely across the grand Peruvian mountain landscape. And we see a weary donkey die a natural death. A man tells why he prefers his donkey to a woman, a musician shows how the donkey jaw is played - the teeth and molars rattle rhythmically in the bone. Apart from an ode to the donkey, the film is an impressive reflection on death: it is needless to mourn people who have abandoned the earth, because the dead remain alive as long as we remember them.