DAHOMEY

What thoughts would go through the mind of a king exiled from his country for more than a century? What if that monarch took the form of a wooden statue boxed up for transportation from France to West Africa? Would he worry about recognising his native land after so long? It would be a challenge for any filmmaker to choose an inanimate object, however resonant, as her philosophical protagonist and narrator – but French-Senegalese director Mati Diop does just this to powerful effect. Part documentary, part visual and sonic poem, Dahomey gives voice to the stolen items with a lyrical text by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel, translated into Fon and recorded in a collage of male and female voices.

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2024