“Sikitiko, the hand of the king” is a satirical documentary, created for the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Congo’s independence from Belgium in 2010. The short film illustrates the debate about the contested colonial heritage in Belgium.
In 2004 a mysterious group called De Stoete Ostendenoare (The Brave People of Ostend) chopped off the hand of a slave on a colonial monument called “The thankfulness of the Congolese” at the seawall in Ostend. They did this to bring attention to Belgium’s dark colonial past. But the case escalated in such a way that even a terrorism investigation was started in search of the lost hand.
Docwerkers reconstructed the story, and, sure enough, even found the lost hand.
Sikitiko has been viewed over 10,000 times online, and has been shown at dozens of film festivals all over the world.
Developed with the support of AVRUG, De Wereld Morgen, and Intal.