Mati Diop Merges Fact With Fantasy In Berlin Doc ‘Dahomey’
variety.comBen Croll Launching in competition in Berlin, Mati Diop’s “Dahomey” traces the path of 26 royal treasures purloined by French soldiers in 1892 and restituted to the country of Benin in 2021.
Moving from Paris to Cotonou, the inventive documentary allows the artifacts to speak for themselves, reflecting on their journey in Fon-language dialogue often set against an ethereal and evocative synthpop score.
Variety spoke with filmmaker ahead of her film’s world premiere. You’ve described the project as a ‘fantasy documentary.’ What does the term mean to you? “Documentary” wouldn’t be enough, “fiction” wouldn’t be quite right either, and I needed a term that captured the hybrid nature.
I also liked this almost playful way of reconciling two cinematic imaginations that we don’t often associate with one another.
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