Dahomey

26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey begin their journey home after 150 years of captivity. These artefacts were among countless others plundered by colonial troops and stored in French museum vaults. Their place of origin in West Africa – the present-day Republic of Benin – has changed over the years. The link with the history recorded in the abducted artefacts has been broken for too long. The return home raises sharp debates in contemporary society about the status and significance of the returnees today. One of the pressing questions is why only 26 of 7000  are returning. Mati Diop gives voice to the ancient sculptures to reflect on their forced journey and reveal the complexity of the postcolonial world.

Immediately after the premiere of “Dahomey” at the Berlinale, it was clear that this was the most significant film in the competition, far surpassing its rivals in originality and subtlety of language. It is the first “Golden Bear” for “Taip Toliau,” and it would be hard to find a better place for its Lithuanian premiere than the Vilnius Documentary Film Festival, where bold explorations of documentary form have always been appreciated and recognized. For the director of “Dahomey,” these explorations are not only a matter of creativity but also of identity. Born in Senegal but raised in Paris, Mati Diop uses her films to question the present of post-colonial Africa and to seek the restoration of historical truth. This truth lies beneath layers of colonial lies and the silence of spiritually and materially impoverished people. Therefore, in her search for truth, the director sometimes invokes ghosts or gives voice to ancient ritual sculptures.

In Mati Diop’s films, sharp criticism is wrapped in a mysterious, poetic, yet incredibly contemporary style. The success of “Dahomey” reminded and inspired us to showcase the director’s earlier works, “A Thousand Suns” and “Atlantics,” which had already captured our hearts, in a special program this spring. Although Diop’s films are about Africa, Lithuanian viewers will quickly understand how closely the issues of identity and decolonization raised by the director resonate with us. What cultural heritage is imprisoned in the vaults of our museums, and what do our museums conceal? These are questions we should begin to ask. – The film publishing company “Taip Toliau”

Awards

Berlin Film Festival – Best Film

Mati Diop

Mati Diop is an actress and director of French-Senegalese descent, part of the younger generation of African filmmakers. Noticed by director Claire Denis she played in 35 Shots of Rum, and started making her own films in 2009. Her films have appeared and won awards at prestigious film festivals, with her debut feature film Atlantics winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. She also directed the film Mille Soleils as a tribute to her uncle, the Senegalese classic filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety’s film Touki Bouki. Mati Diop is the first black female director to have her film selected for the Cannes Competition.