The Discoverer of the Discoverers

A dramatic short documentary from Norway directed by C.S. Nicholson that concentrates on Whydah, a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin, in West Africa.

More precisely, this film centres on a historic event, that event being the first time that Africans made contact with Europeans, which took place in Whydah in 1548, when two brothers, Kpate and Zingbo went hunting and saw a Portuguese ship from the shore and Kpate signalled them to approach. This happened in Whydah and the filmmakers take the viewer to this location so they can reveal to them this significant location and to a certain degree show how it looks like now.

Through voice-over, title cards and dramatic images, this short takes the viewer on a journey about the significance that the event described above has for the people of Whydah. For instance, they possess illustrations depicting Kpate welcoming the Portuguese and the locals also have sacred crockery that they utilise everytime they have special ceremonies. All this indicates that they are proud of their history. Additionally, the film crew's arrival coincided with the enthronement of Kpate IX and part of the ceremony in his honor was filmed.

This documentary was obviously filmed in ways that were intended to make the viewing feel dramatic and powerful and tht shows primarily in the numerous sequences throughout where slow motion dominates, along with dramatic music by Stian Kjelstad Granmo and chanting. Nicholson directs superbly and special praise goes to the footage that was probably filmed from the interior of a moving vehicle, capturing buildings and motorcyclists and their passengers as they stare at the camera in slow motion.

Perhaps this short could be described as less than a documentary and more of an acknowledgement. It spends less time describing events involving the Europeans arriving in Africa and more time emphasising how proud the people of Whydah are that they live in a place that has such an important past.