France triumphed on Saturday February 24 at the Berlinale 2024! Director Mati Diop was crowned with the Golden Bear for her feature film entitled “Dahomey”. This documentary will be released in cinemas on September 25.
After On the Adamant, crowned in 2023 at the Berlinale, another French film received the Golden Bear this year: Dahomey. Directed by Mati Diop, this is a documentary that takes us to November 2021. Twenty-six royal treasures from Dahomey are preparing to leave Paris to be repatriated to their land of origin, which has become Benin.
Along with several thousand others, these works were looted during the invasion of French colonial troops in 1892. But how can we experience the return of these ancestors in a country that had to build itself and come to terms with their absence? While the soul of the works is released, the debate rages among the students of the University of Abomey Calavi.
Another French work was rewarded at the Berlin festival: L’Empire. Directed by Bruno Dumont, the film starring Fabrice Luchini won the jury prize. The latter was chaired this year by Lupita Nyong’o.
After Justine Triet’s triumph at the 2024 César Awards, another French filmmaker shines this time in Berlin with this prestigious Golden Bear. Mati Diop was revealed in 2019 with Atlantique, Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Dahomey will be released in theaters on September 25.
The complete winners of the Berlinale 2024:
Golden Bear: Dahomey by Mati Diop
Grand Jury Prize: A Traveler’s Needs by Hong Sang-soo
Jury prize: The Empire by Bruno Dumont
Silver Bear for Best Director: Nelson Carlo of Los Santos Arias for Pepe
Silver Bear for Best Performance: Sebastian Stan in A Different Man
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Emily Watson in Small Things Like These
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Matthias Glasner for Sterben
Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution: Martin Gschlacht (Photography) for The Devil’s Bath