14-24 nov 2024
InstituteFestivalProfessionals
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Dahomey

Dahomey

Mati Diop
France, Senegal, Benin
2024
68 min
Dutch Premiere
Signed
Synopsis

In 1892, hundreds of art objects from the West African kingdom of Dahomey were looted by French colonial troops and taken to the “mother country”. In 2021, 26 of these displaced royal artifacts were returned to the Republic of Benin, within which Dahomey had been located. It was a key moment in the troubled post-colonial timeline.

In this hybrid documentary, French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop—who won a Golden Bear for this film—imaginatively builds a bridge between past, present and future. The meticulous transportation of the wooden statue of Dahomey’s former ruler King Ghezo is recorded without comment, but the filmmaker does give a voice to the king himself, who reflects on his return in a poetic and enchanting voice-over.

A debate among students from the University of Abomey-Calavi brings the documentary back to present-day reality. Their gaze is fixed on the future, as they discuss their country’s museum policy, and how future generations throughout society can be reunited with the art of their ancestors.

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Credits
68 min
color
DCP
Spoken languages: English, French, Fon
Director
    Mati Diop
    Mati Diop
Production
    Eve Robin for Les Films du Bal,
    Judith Lou Lévy for Les Films du Bal,
    Mati Diop
    Eve Robin for Les Films du Bal,
    Judith Lou Lévy for Les Films du Bal,
    Mati Diop
Executive producer
    Christiane Chabi Kao
    Christiane Chabi Kao
Cinematography
    Josephine Drouin Viallard
    Josephine Drouin Viallard
Editing
    Gabriel Gonzalez
    Gabriel Gonzalez
Sound
    Corneille Houssou,
    Cyril Holtz
    Corneille Houssou,
    Cyril Holtz
Sound Design
    Nicolas Becker
    Nicolas Becker
Music
    Wally Badarou,
    Dean Blunt
    Wally Badarou,
    Dean Blunt
Screenplay
    Mati Diop
    Mati Diop
Involved TV Channel
    ARTE France
    ARTE France
World Sales
    Les Films du Losange
    Les Films du Losange
Distribution for the Netherlands
    Cinéart
    Cinéart
Screening copy
    Cinéart
    Cinéart
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