To be somewhere precise yet stand nowhere at all, to embody one’s convictions, yet never miss the essential, to rise up and be present at the critical moment, to bear witness to a world waiting to tell itself and be retold, to come and go, both at once, abandoning reckless speed, but rather gently touching the human soul with images, with whispered words, the cracks in the wall of life: this is the choreography masterfully created in the film Beyond Territories, Valerie Osouf’s portrait of the world acclaimed filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.

Caught in the stranglehold of debt and structural adjustment, Africa is fighting for its survival. In the face of disaster, representatives of African society bring an action against international financial institutions. The trial takes place in Bamako, in the yard of a house, among its inhabitants.

Just before the turn of the 21st century, Dramane, a Malian who lives in Paris, returns to his family's African village to visit his father. After biking around the town, Dramane realizes how different and stagnated his village is compared to the ever-changing modern world, especially at the dawn of a new millennium. While home, Dramane strikes up a friendship with beautiful villager Nana, with whom he contemplates the future. The film earned Sissako awards at the Fribourg International Film Festival, the Ouagadougou Panafrican Film and Television Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival.

Sissako visits a war-torn Angola after thirty years of war in search of a friend and thereby through interviews reflects on the lost utopias of a generation of Africans who experienced the liberation struggles. His camera is witness to the dislocation and despair of those he encounters living in Angola, however he also discovers the resilient spirit of Africa and optimism for its future in unexpected ways.