THE STORY
Sikitiko: the Hand of the King
In 2004, a mysterious group kidnapped the hand of a statue, part of a monument to King Leopold II. With this act, they wanted to draw attention to Belgium's colonial history. They would set in motion a surreal sequence of events, in the best Belgian tradition.
In 'Sikitiko: the Hand of the King' (9 min - 2010), a little girl reconstructs the story.
"Absolutely delightful film, masterfully done"
Adam Hochschild
Author 'King Leopold's Ghost'
APPROACH
Making fun of Serious People
This story seemed to us a nice metaphor for how Belgium deals with its colonial past: either ignore whistleblowers or prosecute them.
By telling the story from the perspective of an 8-year-old girl, we made the story accessible - and were able to poke fun at all involved.
"The most subversive film in our youth festival this year!"
Monica Koshka-Stein
Artistic director KUKI Young Short Film Festival Berlin
Result
The story went around the world
Made and published in 2010 to mark the 50th anniversary of Congolese independence, Sikitiko was festively presented at De Centrale in Ghent and appeared online in several publications.
Year after year, this modest film has been picked up again and again. In 2021, Alex Moussa Sawadogo chose 'Sikitiko' for the programme Focus on Postcolonialism at interfilm International Short Film Festival Berlin. In previous years, the film was programmed at DocHeads in London and at dozens of festivals in Spain and Latin America - as recently as 2013, Sikitiko received the award for best short film at the festival of political film in Buenos Aires.
Winner Best Shortfilm Award 2013
Ficip Argentina
Festival of political cinema in Buenos Aires
