Abderrahmane Sissako

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.

Angola: thirty years of independence, three years of peace. Capital, Luanda, a city built for 600 thousand people where four million now live. Ten characters guide us through different ways of living and interpreting the city. People from all of the country's provinces meet at this crossroads. They are the life of the city, transforming it by inventing ways to make money and reinventing themselves.

The film sheds light on a country in which, after twenty-seven years of war and three ­years of official peace, there is an overwhelming discrepancy between poor and rich. A sensitive and respectful approach towards a traumatised society.

In 1961 the liberation struggles start in Angola against the portuguese colonial power. The African students in Portugal fear for their safety and plan to flee outside the country. With the help of Theology students, French and North-American pastors, the operation code name "Angola" fled over 100 african students abroad towards freedom, amongst them several future leaders of african countries.

In Angola's mist-shrouded highlands, three KhoiSan master trackers embark on a spiritual quest to rediscover the legendary "ghost elephants" of Lisima, creatures presumed lost but remembered in ancestral trance, ritual, and memory.

While the center of Angola's capital Luanda is now ranked as one of the most expensive places in the world, the majority of the city's population lives in abject poverty. But young people are rebelling and creating their own counterculture with their own music styles and acrobatic dances, using the "ghetto" as a trademark to define their style.

Scenes from the three last days of the festival in which the population of the old Kingdom of Jau participate yearly.

An investigative documentary on the Angolan conflict, filmed on location in Portuguese-controlled Africa by Robert M. Young and first broadcast in 1961.  (Note: Originally broadcast as an episode of NBC’s White Paper series (1961), but listed separately due to its independent documentary production, hazardous field filming, major journalistic impact, and sustained scholarly treatment as a standalone documentary work.)