19/02/2024 - BERLINALE 2024: Mati Diop’s documentary, which follows the return of works of art stolen in colonial times, is a precious little gem – little in terms of length, but not artistic expression
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 …
“The first shape I had in mind for this film was fiction,” filmmaker Mati Diop told a Berlin Film Festival presser this morning when quizzed on the structure of her inventive documentary Dahomey. The doc — which screens in the Berlinale competition this afternoon — borrows its name from the former West African kingdom of …