7915 KM offers a surprising look at the 2007 Dakar Rally, a mind-boggling off-road race spanning the 7,915 kilometers between Paris and Senegal. Rather than focus on cars or motorcycles, Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s sensitive film dwells on the landscapes along the way, specifically the communities and lives that seem overshadowed by the glamour and drama of the race. Indeed, after the film’s initial moments we don’t see a single car. Instead, local onlookers describe what it’s been like to have the race roar through their lives since the 1970s and disclose community issues well hidden from the rally participants. At once a breathtaking collection of landscapes and a thought-provoking portrait of western Africa, the film not only reminds us to slow down and take in our surroundings but also documents a culture in flux. In 2009, political unrest caused rally organizers to move the race to South America.  ST