Tornare in Africa è davvero possibile? Siamo andati in Senegal per capirlo
Macondo Expeditions
4,052 views
What does it mean to return, in a world where millions of people keep leaving? To try to understand, we went to Senegal, a country often told through its routes of departure, and this time tried to travel them in reverse: not following those who leave, but those who choose to return.
We started on Gorée, walking through the Door of No Return in the opposite direction. Along the way we encountered spirituality, traditions and contradictions: Christians and Muslims buried in the same cemetery, diviners consulted before journeys to Europe, Senegalese wrestling, griots, amulets and rituals. But we also came up against worldviews far removed from our own, confronting them without idealising them or pretending that every difference is easy to accept.
In Louga we met Badara and Mister Amdi, who returned to Senegal after spending much of their lives in Italy. Through their stories, we tried to understand what remains of the European dream after twenty or thirty years, what can be found again by coming home, and why sometimes the hardest movement is not leaving, but choosing to return.
In the end, returning stops being only a question of migration. It becomes a question for anyone who has ever left: can you really go home when, in the meantime, both you and the place you left behind have changed?
NOTE
This documentary was first published in January 2026. We decided to republish it today in a slightly revised version as part of a broader effort to reorganise and give new life to the Macondo archive. Months later, the questions that gave birth to it still feel open. That is why we chose to give this film a new life.
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed belong solely to the people interviewed and do not necessarily reflect those of the filmmakers. This film is an attempt to understand people, cultures and points of view different from our own, without idealising them or judging them through a single perspective.
The footage was shot in Senegal between October and November 2025. The social, cultural and migration realities portrayed in the film refer to that moment and to the experiences of the people we met.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:30 The symbolic return: Gorée and memory
06:30 The spiritual return: faith, animism and superstition
14:38 The cultural return: traditions, contradictions and identity
25:01 The physical return: those who leave and those who come back
37:52 The emotional return
40:05 What does returning really mean?
CREDITS
Written, directed and narrated by: Vincenzo Morelli
Editing: Mattia La Rosa
Production: Macondo Expeditions
Cinematography and camera: Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Nikita Garelli
Editing and color grading: Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Nikita Garelli
Sound design: Boris Riccardo D’Agostino, Saburamaya Hashemian de Beitia
Music supervision: Antonio Virno
Interviews: Abdou Samath, Badara Beye, Landry Boissy, Maria Giovanna Toscano, Moustapha Diagne, Noemí Morral, Yossou Margal Mbaye
Travelers: Vincenzo Morelli, Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Maria Giovanna Toscano, Mattia La Rosa, Nikita Garelli
Special thanks: Brandiniente, I-boat, Alessio Vanin, AStella
LIVE THE JOURNEY
This documentary was born from a real journey. If you want to experience one of our documentary journeys yourself: https://www.macondoexpeditions.it
HASHTAGS
#Senegal #Documentary #Migration #Reportage #Roots #Africa #Gorée #Louga #Teranga
8 Comments
E' bello vedere che in qualche parte del mondo non si senta il bisogno di correre; per chi è già nato correndo, come tantissimi nei paesi europei, mi chiedo se sarà mai possibile fermarsi. Molti ci provano, pochi capiscono cosa voglia dire veramente.
Altro documentario di estrema profondità. Al prossimo!
Tornare in Africa è davvero possibile? Siamo andati in Senegal per capirlo
Macondo Expeditions
4,052 views
What does it mean to return, in a world where millions of people keep leaving? To try to understand, we went to Senegal, a country often told through its routes of departure, and this time tried to travel them in reverse: not following those who leave, but those who choose to return.
We started on Gorée, walking through the Door of No Return in the opposite direction. Along the way we encountered spirituality, traditions and contradictions: Christians and Muslims buried in the same cemetery, diviners consulted before journeys to Europe, Senegalese wrestling, griots, amulets and rituals. But we also came up against worldviews far removed from our own, confronting them without idealising them or pretending that every difference is easy to accept.
In Louga we met Badara and Mister Amdi, who returned to Senegal after spending much of their lives in Italy. Through their stories, we tried to understand what remains of the European dream after twenty or thirty years, what can be found again by coming home, and why sometimes the hardest movement is not leaving, but choosing to return.
In the end, returning stops being only a question of migration. It becomes a question for anyone who has ever left: can you really go home when, in the meantime, both you and the place you left behind have changed?
NOTE
This documentary was first published in January 2026. We decided to republish it today in a slightly revised version as part of a broader effort to reorganise and give new life to the Macondo archive. Months later, the questions that gave birth to it still feel open. That is why we chose to give this film a new life.
DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed belong solely to the people interviewed and do not necessarily reflect those of the filmmakers. This film is an attempt to understand people, cultures and points of view different from our own, without idealising them or judging them through a single perspective.
The footage was shot in Senegal between October and November 2025. The social, cultural and migration realities portrayed in the film refer to that moment and to the experiences of the people we met.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:30 The symbolic return: Gorée and memory
06:30 The spiritual return: faith, animism and superstition
14:38 The cultural return: traditions, contradictions and identity
25:01 The physical return: those who leave and those who come back
37:52 The emotional return
40:05 What does returning really mean?
CREDITS
Written, directed and narrated by: Vincenzo Morelli
Editing: Mattia La Rosa
Production: Macondo Expeditions
Cinematography and camera: Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Nikita Garelli
Editing and color grading: Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Nikita Garelli
Sound design: Boris Riccardo D’Agostino, Saburamaya Hashemian de Beitia
Music supervision: Antonio Virno
Interviews: Abdou Samath, Badara Beye, Landry Boissy, Maria Giovanna Toscano, Moustapha Diagne, Noemí Morral, Yossou Margal Mbaye
Travelers: Vincenzo Morelli, Emanuela D’Ambrosi, Maria Giovanna Toscano, Mattia La Rosa, Nikita Garelli
Special thanks: Brandiniente, I-boat, Alessio Vanin, AStella
LIVE THE JOURNEY
This documentary was born from a real journey. If you want to experience one of our documentary journeys yourself: https://www.macondoexpeditions.it
HASHTAGS
#Senegal #Documentary #Migration #Reportage #Roots #Africa #Gorée #Louga #Teranga
Dopo questi 43 minuti ho un sacco di risposte a domande che non sapevo di avere. Che bello è vedere la vita coi vostri occhi, mamma mì!
Lunga vita a Macondo Expeditions