Help us finish the film.

The Silent Country is fully shot. Over two years we recorded 26 hours of testimony from the last survivors of Tepelenë, the communist-era camp where Albania interned the families of its "enemies", most of them women, children and the elderly. Most of these witnesses are now in their eighties and nineties. One, Klora Merlika, has passed away since we filmed with her.

We have paid for everything so far ourselves. Albania's national film fund declined to support a film about the state's silence, so the finish depends on people who believe this history should be seen.

What your gift pays for

The edit is under way, with picture lock planned for March 2027. What remains is everything that turns an edit into a film audiences can see:

• Colour grading: giving the landscape and archive one coherent look

• Sound design and mix: the wind, the river and the voices, mixed for cinemas

• Subtitles: English and Albanian, so the film can travel and be taught in schools

• Archive licences: the 1991 footage that opens the film

• Festival delivery: the files and fees for our world premiere

The total budget is about $264,000, and just over half is already covered. Every gift goes directly into finishing the film.

Other ways to help

• Share the teaser with anyone whose family lived through the camps

• Tell us your family's story if your relatives were interned. Write to ryan@thesilentcountry.com.

• Partner with us if you're a broadcaster, distributor, school or memory organisation. Contact us

Ways to give

• $25 covers one minute of English subtitles

• $100 covers a day of sound editing on the survivors' testimony

• $500 covers a day of colour grading

• $2,500 licenses archive footage of the 1991 collapse

• Any amount brings the premiere closer

The survivors broke their silence for this film. Help us make sure it's heard.

Donations go to The Light Spell LLC, the film's production company, and are not tax-deductible.