Dahomey – A Riveting Reflection on Restitution, Memory & Modern Identity

Nairobi | May 5, 2025- Step into a powerful and thought-provoking cinematic experience with “Dahomey”, screening daily throughout May at UNSEEN Nairobi. This deeply resonant documentary film confronts one of the most pressing conversations in contemporary global culture: the return of African cultural heritage from colonial powers to its rightful homeland.

Directed with clarity and emotional depth, “Dahomey” traces the journey of twenty-six royal artifacts of the Kingdom of Dahomey, which were looted during the 1892 French colonial invasion. For over a century, these treasures sat in French museums—symbols of loss, colonial violence, and the erasure of African historical pride.

Now, over 130 years later, the artifacts are finally returning to Benin—but what does that homecoming truly mean?

As the treasures are repatriated, the film zeroes in on a new generation—students at the University of Abomey-Calavi—who find themselves at the center of a passionate and complex debate. Their conversations reveal tensions between honoring the past and building a future, the symbolism of restitution and the practicalities of reintegration, and how cultural memory shapes national identity in post-colonial Africa.

This isn’t just a film—it’s a conversation. A meditation. A moment to sit with the legacies of colonialism and ask: What happens when history is returned? With stunning visuals, intimate dialogue, and poetic storytelling, “Dahomey” is a must-watch for historians, students, artists, and anyone interested in justice, heritage, and African identity.

Don’t miss this landmark film as it challenges the narrative, provokes dialogue, and invites viewers to rethink what it means to return what was taken.
“Dahomey” is more than a screening—it’s a reckoning.

Event Details:

After Atlantics
Dahomey
New Film by Mati Diop

May 2nd to May 31st, 2025
@ UNSEEN Nairobi

• Cultural repatriation and its modern-day implications
• Intergenerational perspectives on colonial history
• Identity, healing, and what restitution looks like beyond artifacts
• The political, emotional, and philosophical weight of reclaiming one’s past

Time: 7:00 PM

Tickets and More Info:

@ Unseen Nairobi

unseen-nairobi.com