Best African Movies to Watch
Here are my collections of movies historically based on Africa motherland narratives, actors may be foreign but the story and location are purely based in Africa.
List activity
14K views
• 6 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
57 titles
- StarsLeVar BurtonRobert ReedJohn AmosA dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte — a young man taken from the Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave — and seven generations of his descendants in the United States(60 mins.)
- StarsEdward FoxRobert PowellTrevor HowardA historical account on the life of the Zulu King Shaka.It is based on the story of the king of the Zulu, Shaka (reigned 1816 to 1828) 450mins
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsDerek LukeTim RobbinsBonnie MbuliA drama about terrorism in Apartheid-era South Africa, revolving around a policeman and a young man who carries out solo attacks against the regime.The film begins in "Northern Coalfields, South Africa, 1980". It revolves around Patrick Chamusso, a young, apolitical man (played by Derek Luke) who is accused of carrying out an attack against the government, and an Afrikaner police officer, Nic Vos, played by Tim Robbins. Vos is in charge of locating the perpetrators of a recent bomb attack against the Secunda CTL synthetic fuel refinery, which is the largest coal liquefaction plant in the world(101 mins).
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsDenzel WashingtonKevin KlineJosette SimonSouth African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend the black activist Steve Biko. (157 mins.)
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsSidney PoitierMichael CaineTina LiffordOn June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela, along with numerous political detainees, was sentenced to life imprisonment in what remains the most sensational treason trial in the history of South Africa. The incarceration of Mandela and other political prisoners on Robben Island would become a symbol of the struggle to end apartheid and win freedom for the black majority in South Africa. On February 2, 1990, President F.W. De Klerk stood before Parliament and announced the legalization of the African National Congress and a host of other banned political organizations. At the same time, he announced that Nelson Mandela, having served twenty-seven years in prison, would be released within seven days. Yet the world, and indeed most South Africans, knew little about how this momentous occasion came to pass. Until now. This movie was filmed in South Africa. Most of the locations are those where the actual events took place, and the dramatized sequences are augmented with newsreel footage to ensure the most accurate portrayal possible of recent historical events.On June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela, along with a number of political detainees, was sentenced to life... (114 mins.)
- DirectorJustin ChadwickStarsIdris ElbaNaomie HarrisTerry PhetoA chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. (141 mins.)
- DirectorBille AugustStarsJoseph FiennesDennis HaysbertDiane KrugerGoodbye Bafana is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela.True story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela. (118 mins.)
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup(134 mins).
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsRichard HarrisJames Earl JonesVusi KuneneA South African preacher goes to search for his wayward son, who has committed a crime in the big city.A South-African preacher goes to search for his wayward son who has committed a crime in the big city. (106 mins.)
- DirectorTom HooperStarsHilary SwankChiwetel EjioforJamie BartlettPolice officer Dirk Hendricks files an amnesty application for Alex Mpondo, a member of the South African Parliament who can't remember the torture he once endured as a captive political activist. South African-born attorney Sarah Barcant, meanwhile, returns to her homeland to represent Mpondo, as well as Steve Sizela, Mpondo's friend who was arrested along with him and never heard from again.Police officer Dirk Hendricks (Bartlett) files an amnesty application for Alex Mpondo (Ejiofor), a member of the South African Parliament who can't remember the torture he once endured as a captive political activist. South African-born attorney Sarah Barcant (Swank), meanwhile, returns to her homeland to represent Mpondo, as well as Steve Sizela, Mpondo's friend who arrested along with him and never heard from again. (110 mins.)
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJuliette BinocheSamuel L. JacksonBrendan GleesonA journalist and a poetess meet during the hearings of South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.angston Whitfield is a Washington Post journalist. His editor provocatively sends him to South Africa... (105 mins.)
- DirectorJérôme SalleStarsOrlando BloomForest WhitakerConrad KempPolicemen Ali Sokhela and Brian Epkeen investigate the brutal murder of a young white woman, apparently provoked by the availability of a new illegal drug and somehow connected to the disappearance of black street children.Policemen Ali Sokhela and Brian Epkeen investigate the brutal murder of a young white woman, apparently provoked by the availability of a new illegal drug and somehow connected to the disappearance of black street children. (110 mins.)
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsWhoopi GoldbergLeleti KhumaloMiriam MakebaSouth African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising. (117 mins.)
- DirectorDarrell RoodtStarsJennifer HudsonTerrence HowardElias KoteasA drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration.A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration. (104 mins.)
- DirectorMorgan FreemanStarsDanny GloverMalcolm McDowellAlfre WoodardIn this story of a black policeman during South African apartheid, Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people, even while serving as a pawn of the racist government. When his son gets involved in the anti-apartheid movement, he finds himself torn between his family (including long-suffering wife Alfre Woodard) and what he believes is his duty.In this story of a black policeman during South African apartheid, Danny Glover plays the cop, who believes he's trying to help his people... (120 mins.)
- DirectorAnthony FabianStarsSophie OkonedoSam NeillAlice KrigeBased on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era. (107 mins.)
- DirectorSteve JacobsStarsJohn MalkovichNatalie BeckerJessica HainesAfter having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.Cape Town professor David Lurie blatantly refuses to defend himself for an affair with a colored student whom he gave a passing grade for an exam she didn't even attend. Dismissed, he moves to his daughter Lucy's farm, which she runs under most disadvantaged terms, favoring the black locals.(119 mins)
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsPresley ChweneyagaeMothusi MaganoIsrael Matseke-ZuluSix days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader. (94 mins.)
- DirectorJamie UysStarsN!xauMarius WeyersSandra PrinslooA comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries. (109 mins.)
- DirectorJamie UysStarsN!xauLena FarugiaHans StrydomSix people meet in the Kalahari desert: a female NYC lawyer flying with a local zoologist/pilot in a mini-plane, a Cuban and an African soldier taking each other POW, a Boer elephant poacher, and a Bushman looking for his two children.Xixo is back again. This time, his children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers' truck... (98 mins.)
- DirectorDebs PatersonStarsEriya NdayambajeRoger Jean NsengiyumvaSanyu Joanita KintuThe story of four children who walk three thousand miles to get to the world cup. On the way they encounter many things such as HIV and child prostitution.The story begins in Rwanda where a football fanatic Dudu Kayenzi is teaching a group of children how to make an "organic football" using a UN condom, plastic bag and string. Meanwhile, his best friend and football prodigy Fabrice longs to pursue his ambition of becoming an association football legend and is seen breaking the local record for the most continuous football kick-ups(88 mins).
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsJames McAvoyForest WhitakerGillian AndersonBased on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s (121 mins.)
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.The true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda. (121 mins.)
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsIdris ElbaCarole KaremeraPamela NomveteWhen the Hutu nationalists raised arms against their Tutsi countrymen in Rwanda in April 1994, the violent uprising marked the beginning of one of the darkest times in African history which resulted in the deaths of almost 800,000 people.Debra Winger, Oris Erhuero and Idris Elba star in this drama framed by the Rwandan genocide. (140 mins.)
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsJohn HurtHugh DancyDominique HorwitzA Catholic Priest and an English teacher get stranded in a school in Kigali during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.The setting of the film is the École Technique Officielle (ETO) in Kigali, Rwanda, in 1994, during the Rwandan Genocide. Hurt plays a Catholic priest and Dancy an English teacher, both Europeans, who are caught up in the events of the genocide(115 mins).