DAHOMEY

Director: Mati Diop, Benin/Senegal/France 2023, 67 min., documentary, OmeU

In November 2021, 26 art treasures from the former kingdom of Dahomey, which were looted by French colonial troops in 1892, are returned from the Paris Museum of Non-European Art (Musée du quai Branly) to present-day Benin. They include statues of the former monarchs of Dahomey as well as a throne. Back in their country of origin, they will initially be exhibited in a museum in the presidential palace in Cotonou.

Mati Diop's documentary sheds light on the subsequent discussions between young students at the Université d'Abomey-Calavi about how to deal with these objects in a way that is often lacking in European discourse.

Mati Diop, niece of the Senegalese filmmaker and actor Djibril Diop Mambéty, was born in Paris in 1982. She works as an actress and initially released short films. Her documentary MILLE SOLEILS (2013) follows the lead actor of TOUKI BOUKI, a film released by her famous uncle in 1973. Her feature film debut ATLANTIQUE (2019) was awarded the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes International Film Festival. She received the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for her second documentary DAHOMEY.