Mati Diop is an early Oscar frontrunner with documentary “Dahomey” about the return of Benin-based artwork from French colonizers.

Set in November 2021, the Golden Bear-winning film charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey as they leave Paris and return to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin.

Per the official logline, the feature uses multiple perspectives to question “how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence.” The artwork was plundered by French troops in 1892, and the pieces’ return to Benin more almost 150 years later caused an outrage among University of Abomey-Calavi students.

“Atlantics” director Diop writes and directs the documentary, which features cinematography from Josephine Drouin Viallard. Diop produced “Dahomey” along with Eve Robin and Judith Lou Lévy; Christiane Chabi Kao and Cotonou executive produced the documentary, which was co-produced by Arte France Cinéma, Paris.

“Dahomey” debuted at Berlinale...