Dahomey, the fantasy documentary exploring colonial history [Video]

Mati Diop considers Dahomey to be a “fantasy documentary”. A blend of sci-fi touches, duelling debates about colonial trauma, and footage of stolen artefacts being returned from Paris to their rightful home in Benin, Diop’s 68-minute feature explores the subject of restitution in a dreamy, sonically adventurous manner befitting the artistry of its treasures. In fact, one statue, a carving of King Ghezo, even narrates the film, declaring, “I did not expect to see daylight again.”

Beneath the genre flourishes, Dahomey is also a reminder of Europe’s colonial past. In 1892, French troops invaded and pillaged what was then the African kingdom of Dahomey, and is now the Republic of Benin. To make amends, France returned 26 artefacts from the Quai Branly Museum in Paris to Benin in November 2021. However, the act was a token gesture when considering that thousands of artworks were looted; if it took more than a century for 26 …