Ruki's First Summer

A 10-year-old girl sets out on the greatest adventure of her lifetime: A summer holiday that with the help of her father and an old soup chicken leads her into the Tunisian desert where she finds her roots and learns to navigate another culture.

Finally, summer holidays! For 10-year-old Sarah, that means that she gets to visit her estranged Tunisian father Khaled on the holiday island of Djerba. At first, Sarah is in heaven: fishing, swimming, picnicking on the beach, and riding mopeds with her dad. But soon reality strikes and Khaled has to go back to work. On a construction site, Sarah causes an accident and from here on out she feels foreign and misses her mother. At the local market, Sarah is completely overwhelmed and saves a pitiful chicken from becoming their dinner. She names it Ruki and never lets her out of her sight. Having underestimated taking care of a little girl all by himself, Khaled decides to take her to his family living in an oasis in the desert. A great adventure through the beautiful country begins where Sarah and Ruki have to overcome many challenges. With the help of her new friend, she finds a second home, reunites her family and her dream of the perfect summer holidays finally becomes a reality.

Keywords: familial relationships, feel-good, animals