Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

In 2021, twenty-six royal treasures looted by French troops from the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1892 are returned to Benin. Diop follows one artifact, a statue numbered 26, as it is packed up in Paris and carried home, and ends with Beninese students arguing over what the return means and who it is for. Part documentary, part essay, with the statue itself given a voice.

Why it’s here: It's a film about what it takes to return what was taken. What's punk is a statue that speaks and a room of students who tell the government it's not enough, twenty-six pieces out of thousands. What's pedagogical is the debate at the end: who owns history, and who decides? Pairs with Open Veins of Latin America, King Leopold's Ghost and Discourse on Colonialism. Note: short (68 minutes), slow and poetic; French, Fon and English with subtitles.

Sam, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, wants to get to Paris to find the woman he loves. A famous artist offers him a deal: let him tattoo a visa onto Sam's back, and Sam becomes an artwork that can cross borders that people cannot. A dark comedy about art, money and who gets to move, from a Tunisian director.

Why it’s here: It's a film about what a body is worth when a border is the price of freedom. What's punk is the cruel joke at its center: a painting can travel where a person cannot. What's pedagogical is the question it leaves about who profits when someone's suffering gets framed. Pairs with Exit West, The Sympathizer and Fire at Sea (suggested 10-29). Note: R-rated; some sexual content and a scene of violence; mostly Arabic and French with subtitles.