By Dwight Casimere 

African Treasures are returned to their homeland

Dahomey was presented in Black Perspectives Documentary Competitions at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival. 

Dahomey was also presented as a Main Slate presentation at NYFF62.  Shown before a capacity audience with French Senegalese director Mati Diop in attendance, it was one of the more auspicious events of this year’s festival.

Dahomey begins on the big screen in darkness, with only a disembodied voice in narration. The atmospheric music of Dean Blunt and Wally Badarou gives the scene added gravitas as we gradually see a cargo ship gliding over the sea in darkness.

“I journeyed so long in my mind, but it was so dark in this foreign place,” a hollow, Darth Vader-like voice intones as the giant bronze and  wooden sculpture of Gezo, who ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s is lowered into a huge shipping crate for the long journey by sea and air from the Museum du quai Branly in Paris to Coronou in  the present day Republic of Benin. It is one of the 26 treasures that is being repatriated after their plunder by French colonialists more than a century ago.

The French had invaded the royal palace in 1892 at the height of the African slave trade and stolen thousands of artifacts. The   vast majority remain in French hands today.

“The original idea was that this would be my second feature film in which I envisioned a rare African mask speaking as the central character in its own voice, recounting his journey from Paris to its place of origin in Africa. It wasn’t long before I learned of the restitution of these 26 pieces that were being returned to Benin. Before that, the word restitution was largely unknown to me,” Diop told the audience at the NYFF screening. “It was a complete surprise to me as I’m sure it was to most people.  Until that moment, these art treasures were never spoken of “

“I contacted the government about getting permission to film the actual transport and to create this film. We had just two weeks to do it!”

This was Diop’s second appearance at NYFF following her successful showing of the atmospheric supernatural film, the feature debut Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story in 2019 at NYFF57.

Her current film Dahomey has already won the prestigious Golden Bear Award at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival. Dahomey is a MUBI release.

The return of the ancient art treasures to modern-day Benin has not been without controversy. Indeed, spirited debate between the students and faculty at the republic’s 

University of Albomey-Calavi showed the deep divisions that persist to this day. The debates are an integral and important element of the film Dahomey.

For the younger students, the treasures are just, in their words, ‘things’ with no special significance. To others, they are symbols of the colonization that has crippled the African psyche and therefore should be disregarded.

“I grew up watching Disney,” another student responds. ” I knew nothing of Behanzin that focused on our cultural heritage. ” As you can see, opinions were pronounced and all over the map. 

Interestingly, we almost never see the actual treasures in full view. They are only hinted at in the film and alluded to in commentary. This is not a documentary, but rather an exploration of ideas and sensibilities. To say that this is an open social and cultural wound in Benin is an understatement.

 At the final public showing, we witness the exhibition from the viewpoint of the sculptures, looking out at the faces of the museum spectators from their display cases. We see the men, women and children and their varied expressions of awe, bewilderment and wonder. Each person communicates with the art in their own fashion.

It is an American woman who is originally from Benin and who is herself repatriated to the country who gives voice to the prevailing sentiment.

“In many ways, ” she says, “this is symbolic. The treasures are finding their way back piece by piece just as American blacks are finding their way home.”

The 26 repatriated treasures are, in fact, relics of a history that is both complex and controversial. Their message to those in the present day is still shrouded in mystery. 

For centuries, the Kingdom of Dahomey, within the borders of modern-day Benin, was a central cultural meeting point in West Africa, a site of European colonial conquest and the transatlantic slave trade. In 1892, the French invaded and looted hundreds of treasures from the royal palace, alongside thousands of other works. Following years of appeals and reports, in 2021 an agreement was made for several of these artworks to be returned from France to Benin. This is the source material of the film Dahomey.

In all, there are more than 7,000 treasures that remain in museums and storerooms in France that have yet to be repatriated. Marti Diop’s film Dahomey has given these ancient artifacts a voice and further hope of restitution.

For more visit chicagofilmfestival.com