Co-presented by FilmScene’s African Diaspora Committee, the Out of the Archive series highlights overlooked work from Black filmmakers with a monthly screening and discussion of restored and archival work. Arrive early for a pre-show meal! This season is A Global Lens with films from around the world and throughout the diaspora, showcasing a diversity of cultures, genres, techniques, and eras.

Arrive hungry at 6:15pm for a pre-screening meal catered by Oasis | Post-screening discussion with Anny Curtius and Cory Gundlach

The latest from acclaimed filmmaker Mati Diop (Atlantics) is a poetic and immersive documentary that delves into real perspectives on far-reaching issues surrounding appropriation, self-determination and restitution. Set in November 2021, the film charts 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey that are due to leave Paris and return to their country of origin: the present-day Republic of Benin. Using multiple perspectives, Diop questions how these artifacts should be received in a country that has reinvented itself in their absence. Winner of the coveted Golden Bear prize at the 2024 Berlinale, the documentary is an affecting though altogether singular conversation piece that is as spellbinding as it is essential.