ITV News published this video item, entitled “Viola Davis defends new film The Woman King after Dahomey slave trade history backlash | ITV News” – below is their description.
Oscar winner Viola Davis has highlighted the years of research that went into The Woman King, as she addressed accusations the film minimises its location’s role in the slave trade.
The actress pointed out that many of those criticising her latest film have not actually seen it, as she spoke to ITV News about the upcoming action epic.
Davis starred and co-produced The Woman King, which is inspired by the true story of the all-female army, the Agojie, who fought to protect the west African kingdom of Dahomey, in Benin.
Concerns have been raised that the film unjustly glamourises the Agojie army, as critics suggested it should document the kingdom’s role in the slave trade.
ITV News YouTube Channel
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ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Independent Television News (ITN) was founded to provide news bulletins for the network in 1955, and has since continued to produce all news programmes on ITV.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as Dahomey, the country gained full independence from France in 1960.
It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country’s largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2018 was estimated to be approximately 11.49 million.
The official language of Benin is French, with several indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also being commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun (commonly referred to as Voodoo outside the country) and Protestantism.
ITV (LSE: ITV) is a broadcasting company which was formed from a merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications in 2004. It holds Channel 3 broadcasting licences in England, Wales, Southern Scotland and the Isle of Man.
