Dahomey movie storyline. Dahomey, which won the Golden Bear as the best of the Berlin Film Festival, is about the process of returning twenty-six looted works of art from France to Benin in 2021. Told from the perspective of one of the works, Dahomey touches on the legacy of colonialism and examines the sparkles that give objects their specialties.
Twenty-six pieces of the thousands of pieces of treasure looted by French colonial troops from the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892 are being returned to the Republic of Benin, today known as Benin, in November 2021. So, how should the ancient ancestors be welcomed when they return to their homeland? Students of the University of Abomey-Calavi address this issue in their discussions. Mati Diop, who managed to balance politics and poetry, was deemed worthy of the Grand Prize at Cannes in 2019 with Atlantique.
Dahomey is a 2024 documentary film directed by Mati Diop. It is a dramatised account of 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey (in modern day Republic of Benin), which were held in a museum in France. The film explores how the artifacts were returned from France to Benin, and the reactions of Beninese people.
The film was an international co-production between companies in France, Senegal and Benin. It was shown in the main competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear. It was also nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Film Award. It was theatrical released in France on 25 September 2024.
About the Film
The documentary film blends facts and fiction to narrate the stories of 26 African artworks. The royal artefacts from the Kingdom of Dahomey (1600–1904) were taken to France during the region’s colonial period (1872–1960). In the 21st century, they were put on display in the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, a museum of non-European art located in Paris. Following a campaign for repatriation, the artefacts were returned to Benin.
Among the returned works were statues of two kings of Dahomey, Glele and Béhanzin. Their throne, which had been seized by French soldiers in 1892, was also given back. The art pieces are now displayed in a museum in Abomey, the old royal city, about 65 miles from the Gulf of Guinea.
The film includes a discussion by students at the University of Abomey-Calavi, presenting their views on the repatriation of cultural assets. Some of the students criticise the Paris museum for returning only 26 of the 7,000 worldwide ethnographic objects it holds.
A prominent role in the film is given to the 26th art object to be repatriated, a statue that represents King Ghézo, who ruled from 1818 to 1859, shown below. A voice-over by the Haitian writer Makenzy Orcel (who wrote this part of the script), playing the object, tells of the time it spent in storage at the Paris museum, its memories of Africa and thoughts of returning to its homeland.
Dahomey (2024)
Directed by: Mati Diop
Starring: Gildas Adannou, Habib Ahandessi, Joséa Guedje
Screenplay by: Mati Diop
Production Design by: Marco Tulio Pires
Cinematography by: Joséphine Drouin-Viallard
Film Editing by: Gabriel Gonzalez
Music by: Wally Badarou, Dean Blunt
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Les Films du losange (France), Sudu Connexion (Africa)
Release Date: February 18, 2024 (Berlinale). September 25, 2024 (France)
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