Mati Diop, director of Atlantics (2019), has returned with Dahomey. The film begins with the return of 26 treasures to the Dahomey Kingdom, previously held by the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. Once in Benin, there is a heated debate among the passionate students of the University of Abomey-Calavi about whether these treasures should be displayed in a museum for more visitors to see or restored to their original role as religious artifacts. Dahomey is a fanciful and poetic documentary. Mati Diop gives a voice to royal treasure the King Gezo statue, narrated by Haitian writer Makenzy Orcel, who recounts the legendary statue’s abduction and return to its homeland from a first-person perspective. Mati Diop also captures the ancient Dahomey Kingdom’s capital, Abomey, on film. It reveals the city’s mysterious and enchanting nightscapes and demonstrating that ancient legends still live on today. (SEO Seunghee, BIFF)