Silent Legacy

THE FILM IN BRIEF

Silent Legacy is a film created by a Finnish–French–Burkinabè team and premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2025.

The film follows professional choreographer Sibiry Konate, who has lived in Finland for more than a decade but continues to navigate expectations from his country of origin, Burkina Faso. As part of this feeling of “in-betweenness”, the film reflects on the sense of responsibility often felt by migrants living between different worlds.

When Sibiry returns to Burkina Faso, he faces a reality where he is no longer seen simply as a fellow Burkinabè, but as someone who has lived in Europe — and is therefore expected to contribute to the development of the community.

THE INITIATIVE

"The road would bring remarkable changes to Tiene." - Sibiry Konate

This initiative supports the efforts of Sibiry and his community to improve access and opportunities in the village.

At the moment, Sibiry’s home village is not well connected to the outside world. A proper road would open many possibilities for the community. It would enable villagers to transport and sell their products in nearby markets and also help people reach hospitals more safely — including those who are ill or women giving birth.

Farming throughout the year would become possible, as a road would allow materials for essential infrastructure to be transported to the village. And perhaps one day, just as Sibiry imagines in the film, a minibus will travel that road.

Improving the road requires financial resources to make it durable enough to withstand heavy seasonal rains. Along the route there is also a river crossing that would require a bridge. For these reasons, and because the road cannot be built entirely by hand, we have established this initiative.

Steps that can be implemented depending on the amount raised

The road improvement will be carried out step by step, depending on the total amount raised. Each phase represents a concrete improvement to access between the village of Tiene and surrounding areas. Possible steps include:

1. Clearing the route – removing vegetation, trees and roots along the road section.
2. Levelling and preparing the roadbed – smoothing and stabilising the ground to make the road passable.
3. Improving drainage – ensuring that seasonal rains do not quickly damage the road.
4. Adding a gravel layer – strengthening the surface so vehicles can pass more reliably.
5. Constructing a bridge at the river crossing along the route.
6. Paving the road with asphalt, if resources allow.

If the total amount raised does not cover the entire project, the funds will be entrusted to the village community. The community will then decide how to use the resources in the most beneficial way for local development.

Isn’t there a risk that this reinforces the idea that help must come from outside?

This is an important question — and one that the film itself reflects on.

The initiative does not aim to present the village as dependent on outside help, nor Sibiry as someone “bringing development” from Europe. In fact, the road project is something that Sibiry and his community have discussed and already started working on.

What the initiative seeks to do is support an effort that already exists within the community. The role of the campaign is simply to help make resources available for something that people in the village themselves consider important.

At the same time, the film openly acknowledges uncomfortable realities. People who have lived abroad are often expected to contribute financially to their communities of origin. We must also recognize that resources and opportunities are unevenly distributed — in part because of historical and colonial structures.

Interestingly, when villagers begin working on the road, they also organize a kind of show for Western audiences. In this sense, the exchange is not entirely one-sided. The European audiences receive something in return: the opportunity to witness a thought-provoking cinematic journey, in which the villagers play their part.

In a way, this dynamic is not so different from applying for a grant: a project is presented, its meaning is explained, and support is requested. Through the presence of the film — unexpectedly — the villagers themselves end up presenting their own kind of “grant proposal” to viewers who probably have more resources than they do.

In that sense, the initiative is not separate from the film’s themes — it is part of the same conversation about responsibility, expectation, and the unequal structures that shape our world. As the villagers end up presenting a kind of proposal to the viewers, the question is simple: now that we have seen this moment, do we want to take part in it?

Perhaps the film itself becomes a small bridge between two worlds — and the road a bridge in return.