Based on Algerian proverbs and sayings, “Territory(ies)” reviews Algerian history in this century. The French colonization, the pacification of 1957 and ultimate independence in 1962. The political leaders are considered in cleverly edited sequences: Boudiaf, Ben Bella, Colonel Boumedienne and figures from the Islamic movement like Ali Belhadj and Farakhan. The French and Algerian intelligentsias are also included in this kaleidoscopic image of a country with an eventful colonial past that still has difficulties determining its own identity more than 30 years after independence. Barbarism in all its forms is set against the domestic warning of those who plead for keeping eyes, and society, open. By mixing and confronting archival, contemporary and fictional images, this documentary presents a personal point of view about violence and integrism, terrorism and postmodern technology. Proverbs and sayings are an integral part of this complex and intense look at a society in crisis. Rene Char is quoted: “If man would not close his eyes himself, he would ultimately fail to see what was worthwhile to behold!”