Diop charts the repatriation of 26 precious stolen artefacts from Paris to Benin in a ghostly ‘fantasy documentary’ that interrogates colonial legacies.
Launching in competition in Berlin, Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” traces the path of 26 royal treasures purloined by French soldiers in 1892 and restituted to the country of Benin in 2021. Moving from Paris to Cotonou, the inventive documentary allows the artifacts to speak for themselves, reflecting on their journey in Fon-language dialogue often set against …