The documentary 'Dahomey', about African art stolen by Europe, wins at the Berlinale

The documentary

Dahomey

, about African art stolen by European countries in the colonial era and now returned to its places of origin, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale this Saturday.

The film, directed by French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop, documents the return of 26 works that were stolen by France in the 19th century to the kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin.

The director, 41 years old, follows the trail of these ceremonial objects and reflects the debates that her return to her home provoked among a youth lacking their own imagination.

But if it is memorable, it is, above all, because of an extraordinary poetic gesture:

Dahomey

is narrated by one of those statues, hybrids of man and animal, through a monologue written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel.

This unusual artistic decision echoes other festival titles that adopted the point of view of inanimate objects and animal species, suggesting that the human gaze is no longer enough to account for the complexity of the world.

“The current moment is harsh: either we get rid of the past or we take responsibility for what happened, using it as a basis to continue moving forward.

You have to choose.

We have chosen: we are with those who refuse to accept amnesia as a method,” said Diop when accepting the award, while standing for Palestine and dedicating the award “to those who have paved the way.”

The triumph of

Dahomey

was a coherent end to a highly politicized edition dotted with controversies, in which, in addition, documentaries have stood out above other genres.

Dahomey

, which Filmin will release in Spain at the end of 2024, was also one of the few titles that had stood out within a forgettable and depressive competition.

The official jury, headed by the actress Lupita Nyong'o (and including the Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra), the first black president to hold that position, wanted to praise the few films that stood out for their radicalism.

Among them was

A Traveler's Needs

, the new release by Hong Sangsoo, which took the Grand Jury Prize.

The Korean teacher creates a comedy that oscillates between the lunatic and the absurd, starring a French teacher who has invented an ineffable method: she dispenses with textbooks, because she believes that a foreign language is best learned when it serves to express feelings. intimate.

Isabelle Huppert shines wandering around Seoul like an alien in this minor film in the filmography of the person responsible for it, but still in the high range of the Berlin competition.

Hong Sangsoo receives the Grand Jury Prize for 'A Traveler's Needs', from director Albert Serra, member of the official jury. FABRIZIO BENSCH (REUTERS)

Also coming from another planet, in a literal sense, are the protagonists of

L'empire

, a peculiar

unofficial

remake of

Star Wars

in northern France, directed by Bruno Dumont.

The film, which won the jury prize, describes a conflict between two galactic forces that aspire to control the Earth and exemplifies another trend seen in this edition: futuristic and dystopian cinema that takes place in a future very similar to the present.

The best director was Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias for

Pepe

, a very Martian biography of one of the hippos that were part of Pablo Escobar's zoo, an almost indescribable experiment in form that can also be read as an allegory of the colonial condition.

On stage, the 39-year-old Dominican director called for using imagination to oppose “Eurocentrism and imperial Americanization.”

The acting awards, which are given without distinction of gender, went to Sebastian Stan for

A Different Man

, in his first major distinction after a solid career but without starring roles (in the protagonist category), and Emily Watson, who plays a mother superior with the shapes of a Sicilian mafioso, light years away from the woman she played in

Breaking the Waves

, in

Small Things Like These

, the inaugural film of this edition, about the victims of the Magdalene Order in Ireland (it won as secondary).

It did not have any titles in the official section, but Spanish cinema did not leave the festival empty.

Especially the one directed by women.

For example,

The Human Hibernation

, by Anna Cornudella, won the Fipresci prize from international critics.

Memories of a burning body

, by Antonella Sudasassi, a co-production between Spain and Costa Rica that explores the sexuality of three elderly women, won the main prize in the Panorama section.

Reinas

, by Klaudia Reynicke, co-produced with Peru, won the Grand Prize in the Generation section, while the short film

Cura sana

, by Lucía G. Romero, 25 years old, won the Crystal Bear awarded by its young jury. section of the contest.

Winners of the 74th Berlinale

Golden Bear:

Dahomey

, by Mati Diop.

Grand Jury Prize:

A Traveler's Needs

, by Hong Sangsoo.

Jury Prize:

L'empire

, by Bruno Dumont.

Silver Bear for best direction:

Pepe

, by Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias.

Silver Bear for best lead performance:

Sebastian Stan, for

A Different Man

.

Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance:

Emily Watson, for

Small Things Like These

.

Silver Bear for best screenplay:

Sterben (Dying),

by Matthias Glasner.

Silver Bear for artistic contribution:

Martin Gschlacht for

Des Teufels Bad (The Devil's Bath).

Best film in the Encounters section:

Direct Action

, by Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell.

Best Documentary:

No Other Land

, by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

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