Black Girl (1966)

"A Case for Restitution in 5 Films" is a film series curated by Nigerian filmmaker and independent film curator Tobi Akinde screened at the Ethnographic Museum UZH in Spring 2025, in connection with the exhibition "Benin Dues" and its topics of provenance and restitution.

The fifth and last film of the series highlights the deep emotional entanglement between people, things and cultural heritage.

(Film 5/5)

Film by Ousmane Sembène, Senegal, 1966, 58’, Language: French; English subtitles
Black Girl
In his debut feature, Sembène offers a nuanced perspective on objectification and restitution through the journey of an African maid and an African mask in France. By paralleling the mask’s trajectory with Diouana’s, the film’s protagonists, Sembène crafts a synchronous dialogue between the people in exile and their material artifacts. This dual narrative intertwines life force and objectification, displacement and restitution, emphasizing the process of return as both a physical and symbolic act.