The language in this film may be offensive to some people. Viewer discretion is advised.
We often forget that Western museums have hundreds of thousands of objects and works of art that were stolen from sub-Saharan Africa during the colonization period. Engaging in a nationalist race starting in the late nineteenth century, European countries sought to build the most grandiose museums and the richest collections. Since these lootings, the communities and countries of origin have been fighting for the return of their exiled works, sacred objects, and ancestors. Europe has rarely wanted to hear their voices, and the great museums of the Northern Hemisphere have always resisted this call for justice. In 2018, a report commissioned by the French presidency and written by thinkers Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy caused an uproar. The time for final restitution seems to have come. African museums are multiplying and preparing for these works to return. Yet the colonial spectre continues to haunt this complex geopolitical context. Will European countries keep their promises?
We often forget that Western museums have hundreds of thousands of objects and works of art that were stolen from sub-Saharan Africa during the colonization period. Engaging in a nationalist race starting in the late nineteenth century, European countries sought to build the most grandiose museums and the richest collections. Since these lootings, the communities and countries of origin have been fighting for the return of their exiled works, sacred objects, and ancestors. Europe has rarely wanted to hear their voices, and the great museums of the Northern Hemisphere have always resisted this call for justice. In 2018, a report commissioned by the French presidency and written by thinkers Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy caused an uproar. The time for final restitution seems to have come. African museums are multiplying and preparing for these works to return. Yet the colonial spectre continues to haunt this complex geopolitical context. Will European countries keep their promises?
| Director | Nora Philippe |
| Author | Nora Philippe |
| Production | Laurence Miller |
| Editing | Barbara Bascou, Tania Goldenberg, Anne Souriau |
| Music | Thibault Kientz Agyeman |
In Partnership with
Sessions
• Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
Wednesday, march 23, 2022, 01:30 p.m. — 03:30 p.m.
• Cinéma du Musée - Auditorium Maxwell-Cummings
Friday, march 25, 2022, 03:00 p.m. — 05:00 p.m.
© Cineteve
Production
Nora Philippe
Available in French only
Autrice-réalisatrice, elle a notamment réalisé le long-métrage documentaire Pôle emploi, ne quittez pas !, Like Dolls, I’ll Rise et Les Ensortilèges de James Ensor. Historienne de l’art de formation, elle a été la commissaire de l’exposition Black Dolls à La maison rouge en 2018, elle programme régulièrement des cycles de films français pour Columbia University, notamment Blackness in French Film en 2018, dans la continuité de sa recherche sur la représentation des Noir.es. Chercheuse, elle est membre associée du projet de recherche ANR (Université Paris-Descartes) sur les Restitutions, « ReTours, géopolitiques du patrimoine, économies du retour, imaginaires du tourisme. »
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Autrice-réalisatrice, elle a notamment réalisé le long-métrage documentaire Pôle emploi, ne quittez pas !, Like Dolls, I’ll Rise et Les Ensortilèges de James Ensor. Historienne de l’art de formation, elle a été la commissaire de l’exposition Black Dolls à La maison rouge en 2018, elle programme régulièrement des cycles de films français pour Columbia University, notamment Blackness in French Film en 2018, dans la continuité de sa recherche sur la représentation des Noir.es. Chercheuse, elle est membre associée du projet de recherche ANR (Université Paris-Descartes) sur les Restitutions, « ReTours, géopolitiques du patrimoine, économies du retour, imaginaires du tourisme. »
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
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