Kings of Africa

Kings and queens continue to play an important role in modern-day Africa. Charged with preserving their society's cultures, they remain figureheads for many of Africa's 1.3 billion inhabitants. The Austrian art historian and photographer Alfred Weidinger journeys to Africa with a camera crew to explore and preserve the ancient customs of the African kingdoms. The three-part documentary introduces the viewer to a spectacular unknown world, a world that may soon become a thing of the past. The team attends what may be the last-ever coronation of a Hogon, a spiritual leader, in Mali. Weidinger also goes on a quest to find the lost crown of Sierra Leone's legendary ruler, Madam Woki Massaquoi, and investigates the incredible riches of the Ashanti people and the extravagant lifestyle of Swaziland's King Mswati III, the last remaining absolute ruler on the African continent. The fascinating three-parter is an attempt of an adventurer with a passion for people and art to explore the battle between traditional and modern ways of life. And to celebrate the similarities shared by people across the world.