Favourite African Films
by johndavies007 | created - 04 Mar 2014 | updated - 11 Nov 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Buud Yam (1997)
97 min | Drama, Family
In an early 19th century African village, Wend Kuuni - a young man, lives with his adopted family after his mother was killed as a witch. When Pughneere - his adopted sister - becomes ill, ... See full summary »
Director: Gaston Kaboré | Stars: Jean-Claude Bamogo, Abderramane Boufacha, Alassane Dakissaga, Aissatou Harouna
Votes: 221
2. Yeelen (1987)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.
Director: Souleymane Cissé | Stars: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo, Balla Moussa Keita
Votes: 2,751
3. The Silences of the Palace (1994)
116 min | Drama
As she grows up, Alia (the daughter of housemaid Khedija) learns the secrets of the peaceful palace where she and her mother live.
Director: Moufida Tlatli | Stars: Hind Sabri, Ghalya Lacroix, Nejia Ouerghi, Amel Hedhili
Votes: 1,106
4. Waiting for Happiness (2002)
90 min | Drama, Music
The story of two people who cross paths in Nouhadhibou.
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako | Stars: Khatra Ould Abder Kader, Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed, Fatimetou Mint Ahmeda
Votes: 1,092 | Gross: $0.00M
5. Doa al karawan (1959)
109 min | Drama, Romance
This compelling tale of love and betrayal, set in the upper Egyptian countryside, follows the story of Amna as she plots her revenge on the engineer who destroyed her family's honor.
Director: Henry Barakat | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Ahmad Mazhar, Aminah Rizq, Zahrat El-Ula
Votes: 1,969
6. The Wind (1982)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
Finye tackles the generation gap in post-colonial West Africa. Its heroine is the pot smoking daughter of a provincial military governor who falls in love with a fellow university student, the descendent of one of Mali's chiefs.
Director: Souleymane Cissé | Stars: Fousseyni Sissoko, Goundo Guissé, Balla Moussa Keita, Ismaila Sarr
Votes: 292
7. Wanderers of the Desert (1984)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A teacher is assigned to a remote desert village that is obsessed with a mysterious buried treasure and whose children are cursed to wander the desert.
Director: Nacer Khemir | Stars: Nacer Khemir, Soufiane Makni, Noureddine Kasbaoui, Sonia Ichti
Votes: 675
8. Hyenas (1992)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Dramaan is the most popular man in Colobane, but when a woman from his past, now exorbitantly wealthy, returns to the town, things begin to change.
Director: Djibril Diop Mambéty | Stars: Mansour Diouf, Ami Diakhate, Mamadou Mahourédia Gueye, Djibril Diop Mambéty
Votes: 1,338 | Gross: $0.02M
9. Moolaadé (2003)
Unrated | 124 min | Drama
When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traoré, Dominique Zeïda
Votes: 4,150 | Gross: $0.21M
10. Bab'Aziz: The Prince That Contemplated His Soul (2005)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
The story of a blind dervish Bab'Aziz and his spirited granddaughter, Ishtar, together they wander the desert in search of a great reunion of dervishes that takes place just once every thirty years.
Director: Nacer Khemir | Stars: Parviz Shahinkhou, Maryam Hamid, Golshifteh Farahani, Mohamed Grayaâ
Votes: 3,753
11. Outsiders (1977)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama
In protest of forced conversion to Islam, the Ceddo (outsiders) kidnap King Demba War's daughter Princess Dior Yacine and hold her hostage.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Tabata Ndiaye, Alioune Fall, Moustapha Yade, Matoura Dia
Votes: 1,090
12. The Blazing Sun (1954)
TV-14 | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A rich landlord floods and destroys a village on purpose to prevent the people living there from making a profit off their crops. What he doesn't know is that his own daughter is in love with Ahmed, a young man from the village.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Faten Hamamah, Omar Sharif, Zaki Rostom, Farid Shawqi
Votes: 1,555
13. The Land (1970)
130 min | Drama
A small peasant village's struggles against the careless inroads of the large local landowner. The Land shows why political oppression does not necessarily lead to a sense of solidarity among the disinherited.
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Mahmoud Al Meleji, Nagwa Ibrahim, Ezzat El Alaili, Hamdy Ahmed
Votes: 2,443
14. Black Girl (1966)
Not Rated | 65 min | Drama
A black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine, Momar Nar Sene
Votes: 6,005
15. Touki Bouki (1973)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
Mory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.
Director: Djibril Diop Mambéty | Stars: Magaye Niang, Myriam Niang, Christoph Colomb, Mustapha Ture
Votes: 4,101
16. Africa, I Will Fleece You (1992)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, History
A documentary examining political repression in Cameroon, Central Africa.
Director: Jean-Marie Téno | Stars: Jean-Marie Téno, Narcisse Kouokam, Marie Claire Dati, Essindi Mindja
Votes: 110
17. Guimba the Tyrant (1995)
93 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Documents the rise and fall of a cruel and despotic village chief Guimba, and his son Jangine in a fictional village in the Sahel of Mali.
Director: Cheick Oumar Sissoko | Stars: Issa Falaba Traoré, Balla Moussa Keita, Habib Dembélé, Lamine Diallo
Votes: 245
18. Tableau ferraille (1997)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama
Tells the story of an idealistic young politician's rise and fall. Daam, a well-intentioned but vacillating European-trained politician must choose between two social paradigms exemplified ... See full summary »
Director: Moussa Sene Absa | Stars: Ismaël Lô, Ndèye Fatou Ndaw, Thierno Ndiaye Doss, Ndèye Bineta Diop
Votes: 70
19. Nahla (1979)
111 min | Drama
In January 1975, Larbi Nasri, a young Algerian journalist, was caught in the whirlwind of events preceding the civil war in Lebanon. He witnesses the construction of the myth of Nahla, a singer adored by the Arab population.
Director: Farouk Beloufa | Stars: Yasmine Khlat, Youssef Saiah, Lina Tebbara, Nabila Zeitouni
Votes: 48
20. Virunga (2014)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, War
A team of brave individuals risk their lives to protect the last mountain gorillas.
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel | Stars: André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Votes: 12,253
21. Wend Kuuni (1982)
75 min | Drama
In pre-colonial times a peddler crossing the savanna discovers a child lying unconscious in the bush. When the boy comes to, he is mute and cannot explain who he is. The peddler leaves him ... See full summary »
Director: Gaston Kaboré | Stars: Serge Yanogo, Rosine Yanogo, Joseph Nikiema, Colette Kaboré
Votes: 271
22. Bamako (The Court) (2006)
115 min | Drama
Bamako. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up... In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court ... See full summary »
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako | Stars: Aïssa Maïga, Tiécoura Traoré, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Habib Dembélé
Votes: 1,493 | Gross: $0.11M
23. Oh, Sun (1970)
98 min | Drama
A native of Mauritania is delighted when he is chosen to work in Paris. However, he is disappointed when he sees racial inequity as blacks are relegated to manual labor while less skilled whites are given preferential treatment.
Director: Med Hondo | Stars: Robert Liensol, Théo Légitimus, Ambroise M'Bia, Gabriel Glissant
Votes: 831
24. Mother of the Dunes (1997)
90 min | Drama
The story of Zamiatou, a Songhaï woman, in North Eastern Mali. With two young sons, a pretty daughter and a handicapped husband, Zamiatou struggles to survive in a remote and barren area. ... See full summary »
Director: Abdoulaye Ascofare | Stars: Aminata Ousmane, Balla Moussa Keita, Safiatou Mahamane, Oumar Mbarek
Votes: 54
25. Borom sarret (1963)
20 min | Short, Drama
Boron Sarret is arguably the first film made by a black African. It illustrates poverty in Senegal, particularly for the working man.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Ly Abdoulay, Albourah
Votes: 1,520
26. Our Father (2002)
Not Rated | 84 min | Drama
Tahir (15) and Amine (8) wake up one morning to learn that their father has left home. The brothers decide to go looking for him. One day, they see their father on the big screen and decide to steal the reel.
Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | Stars: Ahidjo Mahamat Moussa, Hamza Moctar Aguid, Zara Haroun, Mounira Khalil
Votes: 738
27. The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (1999)
Not Rated | 45 min | Drama, Family
A girl sells copies of Soleil, the government paper.
Director: Djibril Diop Mambéty | Stars: Moussa Baldé, Lissa Balera, Aminata Fall, Dieynaba Laam
Votes: 866
28. City of Contrasts (1969)
22 min | Short
A somewhat-humorous look at the city of Dakar, its people, architecture, politics, social behavior, and even the white French tourists, and especially the influence of France's culture and ... See full summary »
Director: Djibril Diop Mambéty
Votes: 152
29. Denko (1993)
18 min | Drama, Short
Mariama and her blind son Bilaly are shunned by their neighbors. When Mariama rescues an albino man, Samba, from drowning, she discovers that he is a healer and can cure her son's blindness... See full summary »
Director: Muhammad Camara | Stars: Mohamed Camara, Maimouna Coulibaly, Awa Traoré, Gamélè Soma
Votes: 28
30. Guelwaar (1992)
115 min | Drama
Burial of a Christian political activist in a Muslim cemetary forces a conflict imbued with religious fervor. A satiric portrayal of religion and politics, sometimes humorous, sometimes deadly serious.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Abou Camara, Marie Augustine Diatta, Yama Diedhiou, Mame Ndoumbé Diop
Votes: 407 | Gross: $0.06M
31. Camp de Thiaroye (1988)
157 min | Drama, War
In this semi-autobiographical film, black soldiers help to defend France, but are detained in prison camp before being repatriated home.
Directors: Ousmane Sembene, Thierno Faty Sow | Stars: Sidiki Bakaba, Hamed Camara, Ismaila Cissé, Ababacar Sy Cissé
Votes: 644
32. Harvest: 3,000 Years (1975)
150 min | Drama
In Ethiopia; there is a slow boiling of a feud between a wealthy Lord and a protester who feels he is mistreating his laborers. While the viewer gets to closely examine the culture, conversations, and lives of the locals who surround them.
Director: Haile Gerima | Stars: Kasu Asfaw, Gebru Kasa, Worke Kasa, Melaku Makonen
Votes: 226
33. Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990)
Unrated | 98 min | Drama, Comedy
Noura struggles to reconcile two worlds, Muslim women and men, while also dealing with his own sexuality.
Director: Férid Boughedir | Stars: Selim Boughedir, Mustapha Adouani, Rabiah Ben-Abdullah, Mohamed Driss
Votes: 2,066
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