This poetic documentary charts 26 objects from the Kingdom of Dahomey which leave Paris and are returned to present-day Benin.
From acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics), Dahomey is a poetic and immersive work of art that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution. Set in November 2021, the documentary charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey that are due to leave Paris and return to their country of origin: the present-day Republic of Benin. Using multiple perspectives, Diop explores how these art treasures, stolen from ancestors, should be received in a country which has reinvented itself in their absence.
"In this bewitching work of speculative documentary, French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop takes on a hot topic of the culture wars – the decolonisation of European museums – and weaves from it a beguiling meditation on identity, ancestry and the weight of history." – Rachel Pronger, Sight & Sound
- Director: Mati Diop
- Language: French, Fon and English with English subtitles
