silent legacy (2025)

Directed by Jenni Kivistö & Jussi Rastas

Production: Ella Ruohonen/Väki Films Ltd /Finland)

Feature Documentary (87 minutes)

Co-Production: Sébastien Tézé / Ellis Films (France), Mamounata Nikiema / Pilumpiku Production (Burkina Faso)

In a world order that separates people, Sibiry struggles to find a real connection and, in search of meaning, decides to give a valuable gift to his home village in Africa.

Sibiry, a choreographer from Burkina Faso now living in Finland, struggles with the unrealistic expectations from his original home country, while also seeking connection in his new country. Viewed as a privileged European back home yet an outsider in Finland, he longs to be seen as an equal.

Using both observational cinema and contemporary dance, the film explores identity, migration, and colonial legacies, shedding light on complex societal pressures faced by African migrants and finally how the European filmmakers’ presence unintentionally affects the reality.