On a train to Rostov-on-Don in 1980, Malian-Mauritanian bursary holder Abderrahmane Sissako met the Angolan Afonso Baribanga, who had also been sent to the USSR. Both are supposed to learn Russian. Sissako studied film directing at the WGIK in Moscow, while Baribanga pursued a different career and eventually returned to Angola, where a post-colonial civil war was raging. Years later, Sissako sets off in search of his vanished friend, travelling to his own and Baribanga’s African homelands, where the old and new world powers have left devastating traces. In 1997, in a side section, DOK Leipzig presented the feature-length version of Sissako’s travelogue, which is steeped in contemporary and colonial history. The 2024 Retrospective presents an abridged version.

A multimedia dive into the paradox of Nouakchott: a city that moves. The heart of this co-created installation is a new 360° film, in which the viewer is invited to join former nomad Mohamed for a quiet moment in the outskirts of Nouakchott, Mauritania. The film is supported by archival and vernacular media, so to paint a broad picture of a multifaceted city.