The jury of the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday rewarded a documentary tackling the painful issue of works of art looted in Africa by the former colonial powers.
Chaired for the first time by a black actress and director – Lupita Nyongo is Mexican-Kenyan – the Berlinale jury awarded this year Dahomey, a documentary which directly addresses the post-colonial question.
“As a Franco-Senegalese, Afro-descendant filmmaker, I have chosen to be one of those who refuse to forget, who refuse amnesia as a method”declared director Mati Diop on Saturday evening when receiving her Golden Bear.
The filmmaker took the opportunity to address the political crisis currently shaking Senegal after the announcement of the postponement of the presidential election. “I stand in solidarity with the Senegalese who are fighting for democracy and justice.”she added, before also displaying her “solidarity with Palestine”.
Dahomey tell the restitution in November 2021 in Benin of 26 works looted in 1892 by French colonial troops. A movement started over the last five years by the former Western powers, including France, Germany and Belgium.
Mati Diop, daughter of a Senegalese musician, Wasis Diop, and a mother working in the arts, who was born and raised in Paris, already won the Grand Prix of the festival at Cannes in 2019 for her film Atlanticthe highest distinction after the Palme d’Or.
This is also the second time that the Berlin festival has awarded the supreme prize to an African film (the South African Mark Dornford-May was crowned in 2005 for his film U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha.
Mati Diop succeeds Frenchman Nicolas Philibert, Golden Bear last year.
Note that another Frenchman distinguished himself in Berlin. Bruno Dumont won the jury prize for _L’Empire,_released last Wednesday in French cinemas.
Our correspondent in Berlin, Liv Stroud, commented on the end of the Berlin festival:
“Many were disappointed that the film My Favorite Cake (an Iranian drama film co-written and directed by Maryam Moqadam and Behtash Sanaeeh) and The Strangers’ Case (by activist-director Brandt Andersen) did not receive awards. “Next year we will see a reduction in the number of films and a new festival. with the new American commissioner, Tricia Tuttle, who many hope will propel the film festival to rival Cannes and Venice.”
The complete winners of the 74th edition of the Berlinale can be found here.