"November 9, 2021: 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey are due to leave Paris, returning to their land of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin.
"These artefacts are among thousands looted by French colonial troops during the invasion of 1892.
"For them, 130 years of captivity are coming to an end."
Tipped to be among the Best Documentary Feature nominees at next year's Oscars and also Senegal's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, Dahomey is thought-provoking and dreamy at the same time.
In tackling the repatriation of cultural heritage, French director Mati Diop takes an unusual approach: she keeps the soundbites to a minimum. Instead, we hear from one of the artefacts. '26' is the statue of King Ghezo, who tells us his story in the dark, en route, and back home.
Away from the glass case, we also hear students from the University of Abomey-Calavi as they debate whether the repatriation is political PR disguised as part of the healing process - and learn that while 26 artefacts have been returned, France still has an estimated 7,000. Irish viewers will find kindred spirits in the exchange of views.
Director Diop won the Berlin International Film Festival's top honour, The Golden Bear, for Dahomey in February. Although the film - a co-production between Benin, Senegal, and France - is short, there is more than enough here to warrant further investigation of Diop's work. And you could well be putting Benin on the bucket list.
Click here for more movie news.
.svg)