Aboard a giant slave ship in an abandoned Citroën factory, the history of the West Indies is traced through several centuries of French oppression. The ship becomes a stage for the people to tell stories via song and dance—from their enslavement to their displacement in Metropolitan France.

Described by Barry Jenkins as a “vital masterpiece,” Med Hondo’s virtuosic tribute to the golden age of American musicals was one of just a handful of African films to feature in Sight & Sound’s greatest films poll. Breathtakingly staged, West Indies is an invigorating indictment of colonial legacy.