>> Catalog 2025

The Silent Path

Soebertono Mote

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NDONESIA / 2024 / Indonesian, Dutch / B&W, Color / DCP / 77 min

Director, Editing: Yonri Revolt
Script, Sound Design: Rendy N. Rizal, Yonri Revolt
Photography: Syaiful Anwar, Rendy N. Rizal, Febian Kakisina
Music: Larry Nickel, Jason Ranti
Producer, Production Design: Rendy N. Rizal
Appearances: Lambertus E.H Hagendoorn, Restituti “Chichi” Betaubun, Benson Hewat, Robert Hewat, Febian Kakisina, Jefry Manehat, Lina Ningsih
Production, Source: Yoikatra

This film depicts the life of Dutch priest Bert, who worked as a missionary in Papua and devoted himself to promoting sex education for the prevention of AIDS. Through interviews and diary entries read by the filmmaker, the path of this priest is carefully traced across the tumultuous times in which he lived. The film skillfully weaves abundant archival footage with free, at times experimental camerawork, delivering a sharp critique of colonialism while also revealing the filmmaker’s own deep affection for the priest, whom he had known since childhood. Starting with an unexpected opening that draws the viewer in, the film bursts with distinctive humor and an intense, fully realized worldview. (MA)

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[Director’s Statement] Through this film, we present the intimate reality of Lambertus Henricus Hagendoorn or Sobertono Mote, also known as Pater (Pastor) Bert, and his life in Papua. His views on love, armed conflict and colonialism, occurring simultaneously during his fifty years of service, are told in this film. As a Catholic priest, Pater Bert was a preacher of the “good news”, a thinker and a respected public figure. But behind all that, he keeps a silent story rarely known. For 50 years, Pater Bert witnessed what he considered a primitive Papua experience forced modernization. He also shifted many people’s way of thinking—on condom use, feminism, and independence. In Papua these are taboo, especially independence—which often leads to persecution over alleged separatism. Although he did many constructive things until his death to COVID-19, he hasn’t received meaningful respect. He came alone to Papua, and died alone. This film serves as a reminder and a symbol of respect to him, for the next generation. But of course, for us, he is not a saviour. His arrival and departure were not to be celebrated here. Many things remain unresolved—human rights violations, and social and educational inequality—but we realized it was not his task. His task was to give motivation, inspiration, and knowledge to Papua. We, the filmmakers, are the ones who could transform it into a device to communicate our ideas of freedom. On the other hand, we are well aware that the state sees independence in action as separatism. But of course, that is not the goal of this film. The goal is recognition that Papuans have neither independence nor freedom to think or act. For now, we must build a bridge to communicate—something we believe is the original task of cinema.