Dahomey

In the organizer's words:

Screenings:

• Thu, October 24, 2024 - Wed, October 30, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
• Thu, October 31, 2024 - Thu, October 31, 2024 at 7:00 pm

DAHOMEY, winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2024, is the haunting and impressive new documentary by Mati Diop (ATLANTIQUE). The award-winning film sheds light on the complex issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution and also takes a poetic look at an often neglected past.

In 1892, 26 art treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey were looted by French colonial troops along with thousands of other objects. In November 2021, these artifacts are about to leave Paris and return to their country of origin, today's Benin. How should this looted art be received in a country that has changed dramatically in the meantime? With voiceovers and film footage of student debates at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Mati Diop sheds light on various perspectives.

Diop's latest film is thought-provoking. He uses compelling, non-traditional narrative forms to emphatically anchor the past in the present. DAHOMEY offers touching and unique material for discussion that is both captivating and indispensable.

With her first feature film ATLANTIQUE (2019), which was awarded the Grand Prix at the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival, Mati Diop established herself as one of the key figures in a new wave of African and Afro-diasporic culture. Her dual Franco-Senegalese identity is reflected in Diop's nomadic, poetic and political cinema. Her films, strongly influenced by her Creole origins, break through conventional genre and format boundaries.