À qui le monde (Blooming)

Founded three hundred years ago as a refuge from slave traders, Ganvié, in Benin, has become the largest stilt village in Africa and now attracts thousands of tourists. But the people of the water, who once resisted colonization, are today colonized by a new invader: the water hyacinth.

Said to have been introduced to decorate hotels and luxury homes, this plant now spreads at a staggering and uncontrollable rate, suffocating the lake. A small Beninese company has managed to turn this scourge into a resource—but at the cost of exhausting labor.

Raw realism and imaginary visions blend together, as if one could only be understood—or endured—through the lens of the other.

Director’s statement :

À qui le monde (Blooming) is the result of eight years of work, culminating in a 45-minute hybrid documentary fable, shot in Benin and produced in France. Blending documentary, fictional, and symbolic elements, the film offers a poetic portrait of power structures in African countries, the weight of post-colonial legacy, ecological threats, and the ambiguous promises of sustainable development.

Rather than delivering a linear narrative, it weaves together voices, gestures, and atmospheres—inviting the viewer to drift between reality and invention, historical analysis and myth. The film features non-professional performers from marginalized communities around Cotonou and Porto-Novo, who become active participants in the storytelling.