Mati Diop was born in Paris; she is an actor, writer and director whose acclaimed 2019 narrative feature debut, Atlantics, is streaming on Netflix. Diop’s Sengalese father, Wasis, is a musician and her late uncle, Djibril Diop Mambéty, was a filmmaker. She spent her formative years in France and Senegal, which accounts for her interest in the repatriation of (some of) Benin’s looted artworks.

man raises hand in seated group — Still from Mati Diop’s ‘Dahomey.’ (Courtesy of MUBI)

Once the artworks have landed in Benin, Diop exhibits both generosity and good judgment by devoting a chunk of the film (which clocks in at a succinct 68 minutes) to the opinions of the Beninese. Not through person-on-the-street interviews, mind you, but via an eloquent discussion among informed and impassioned University of Abomey-Calavi students.

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‘Dahomey’ Follows Relics’ Return to Benin in a Moving Documentary