Dahomey

From acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics), Dahomey is a poetic and immersive documentary that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution.

Thousands of royal artifacts of Dahomey, a West African kingdom, were taken by French colonists in the 19th century for collection and display in Paris. Centuries later, a fraction returned to their home in present-day Benin. Set in November 2021, this dramatized documentary follows the journey of 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. By presenting the perspectives of cultural art historians, embattled university students, and one of the repatriated statues himself, Diop questions how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence.

Winner of the coveted Golden Bear prize at the 2024 Berlinale, Dahomey is an affecting though altogether singular conversation piece that is as spellbinding as it is essential.

Gemma Rodrigues, Ames Director of Education and Curator of the Global Arts of Africa at the Johnson Museum of Art, will introduce the screening on Thursday, February 13.

Part of our "Doc Spots" series. Courtesy of Variance Films. In French, Fon, and English with English subtitles.