Dahomey

Directed by Mati Diop
France
2024
67 mins

Synopsis

Trailblazing filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics) won the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2024 for her ingenious documentary on the repatriation of royal treasures to present-day Benin in West Africa.

Plundered by French colonial troops in the late nineteenth century, 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey are about to be returned. What would these ancestral statues think about their homecoming? What do Benin’s university students think now? What about all the hundreds of items that remain in European arts institutions to this day? A French-Senegalese filmmaker, Diop’s work frequently tackles France’s colonial legacy in North Africa. She won Cannes’ Grand Prix for her debut feature, becoming the first Black woman to premiere a film in competition in Cannes.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

At just over an hour, Diopu2019s strange, captivating and rigorously intellectual film leaves a mighty impression well beyond its compact length
Stephen A Russell, Time Out

Tickets

Sat 8 June 2024, 6:25am
State Theatre
Assisted ListeningWheelchair
Sun 9 June 2024, 4:45am
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 3
Assisted ListeningWheelchair
Tue 11 June 2024, 6:45am
State Theatre
Assisted ListeningWheelchair
  • Year
    2024
  • Country
    France, Senegal, Benin
  • Language
    In French, English and Fon with English subtitles
  • Director
    Mati Diop
  • Producer
    Mati Diop, Eve Robin, Judith Lou Lévy
  • Screenwriter
    Mati Diop
  • Cinematographer
    Joséphine Drouin Viallard
  • Editor
    Gabriel Gonzalez
  • Genre
    Documentary, Africa, Women Directors, Festival Award Winners, Cinephile, Arts, Experimental
  • Premiere
    Australian Premiere
  • Company Credits
    Australian Distributor: Rialto Distribution
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