Dahomey

In 1892, hundreds of artefacts from the West African kingdom of Dahomey were plundered by French colonial troops and taken to the ‘mother country’. In 2021, 26 of those displaced royal artefacts were returned to the Republic of Benin, which encompasses the territory of what was then Dahomey. It is a key moment in the troubled timeline of post-colonialism.

With this hybrid documentary, French-Senegalese Mati Diop – who won the Golden Bear with this film – imaginatively builds a bridge between past, present and future. The meticulous transportation of the wooden statue of King Gezo is recorded in silence, but the filmmaker also gives a voice to the former ruler, who reflects on his retreat in a poetic and enchanting voice-over.

A debate between students from the University of Abomey-Calavi throws the documentary back into reality. Their gaze is focused on the future; the students discuss, among other things, museum policy in their country, and how future generations can be reunited with the art of their ancestors across society.