Top African Films
African cinema has always fascinated me. The culture, the general atmosphere, the stories, and everything else that surrounds them is just so unique and refreshing compared to all the other types of movies out there. Plus, being able to see my own people portray complex, multi-layered characters that Hollywood would never offer them certainly doesn't hurt its appeal either.
The understated way that most Africans tell their stories on film appeals to me a lot, and a lot of the films themselves are very original and have a distinct mysticism that compells you to dig deeper, but not at the sacrifice of great character development and heartfelt emotion. If there's any form of cinema that feels almost completely devoid of pretentiousness, it's this one.
This is a list of my favorites, which includes films that weren't necessarily African productions or were made in Africa, but take place in Africa story-wise or happen to involve the continent. Most of them are purely African films from head to toe, though. I will continually update it like all my other lists.
I hate the idea of ranked lists, so this one is pretty loose in that regard.
Not on IMDb:
"Kichwateli" by Muchiri Njenga
"Swirl In Bamako" by Dominique Philippe
The understated way that most Africans tell their stories on film appeals to me a lot, and a lot of the films themselves are very original and have a distinct mysticism that compells you to dig deeper, but not at the sacrifice of great character development and heartfelt emotion. If there's any form of cinema that feels almost completely devoid of pretentiousness, it's this one.
This is a list of my favorites, which includes films that weren't necessarily African productions or were made in Africa, but take place in Africa story-wise or happen to involve the continent. Most of them are purely African films from head to toe, though. I will continually update it like all my other lists.
I hate the idea of ranked lists, so this one is pretty loose in that regard.
Not on IMDb:
"Kichwateli" by Muchiri Njenga
"Swirl In Bamako" by Dominique Philippe
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- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyStarsMansour DioufAmi DiakhateMamadou Mahourédia GueyeDramaan 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.
- DirectorHaile GerimaStarsAaron ArefeAbiye TedlaTakelech BeyeneThe Ethiopian intellectual Anberber returns to his native country during the repressive totalitarian regime of Haile Mariam Mengistu and the recognition of his own displacement and powerlessness at the dissolution of his people's humanity and social values. After several years spent studying medicine in Germany, he finds the country of his youth replaced by turmoil. His dream of using his craft to improve the health of Ethiopians is squashed by a military junta that uses scientists for its own political ends. Seeking the comfort of his countryside home, Anberber finds no refuge from violence. The solace that the memories of his youth provide is quickly replaced by the competing forces of military and rebelling factions. Anberber needs to decide whether he wants to bear the strain or piece together a life from the fragments that lie around him.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsSerigne SowAstou N'DiayeMame DiaThe pregnancy of a young girl scandalizes her community.
- DirectorGaston KaboréStarsMathias BayiliColette KaboréJoseph NikiemaIn the Mossi culture, one of the rites attending the birth of a child and its induction as a new member of the community involves the burial of the placenta. The space in which the placenta is buried is called 'Zan Boko' - a phrase which connotes the religious, cultural and affective relations that bind the child to the land and that embraces the notions of 'rootedness' and 'belonging'. Kaboré tells the story of Tinga, who resists the encroaching urbanization of his native territory. The specific rhythms and vision of the rural community, including its values, social relationship, and individual & collective destinies, are altered when a city is planted on the edge of an ancient native village.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineStarsFarid ShawqiHind RustumYoussef ChahineA newspaper salesman at the train station in Cairo develops an unhealthy obsession with a woman who sells refreshments.
- DirectorHenry BarakatStarsFaten HamamahAhmad MazharAminah RizqThis 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.
- DirectorSol de CarvalhoStarsEvaristo AbreuTimóteo MaposseMaria Amélia PanganeSofia, a young girl in Mozambique who is studying to be a doctor, finds that her professor wants more from her than hard work. An unwillingness to compromise her values and potentially her health, may cost her a place there.
- DirectorOliver SchmitzStarsTony KgorogeRapulana SeiphemoPercy MatsemelaA young Soweto actor joins a gang to study up and be more convincing in a gangster role he wants.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsMakhouredia GueyeYnousse N'DiayeIsseu NiangA money order from a relative in Paris throws the life of a Senegalese family man out of order. He deals with corruption, greed, problematic family members, the locals and the changing from his traditional way of living to a more modern one.
- DirectorMed HondoStarsRobert LiensolThéo LégitimusAmbroise M'BiaA 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.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsMbissine Thérèse DiopAnne-Marie JelinekRobert FontaineA black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
- DirectorRalph ZimanStarsRapulana SeiphemoJeffrey SekeleRonnie NyakaleA young hoodlum's rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsPresley ChweneyagaeMothusi MaganoIsrael Matseke-ZuluSix days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
- DirectorIdrissa OuedraogoStarsRasmané OuédraogoIna CisséRoukietou BarrySet in a pre-colonial African past, Tilai is about an illicit love affair and its consequences. Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous. When the liaison is discovered, Saga's brother, Koudri, pretends to kill Saga for the honor of the family and village. Saga and Nogma flee to another village, but when Nogma's birth mother dies, he returns home. Having brought ruin on the family, Saga is shot by Koudri, who walks off into exile and probable death.
- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyA 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 its contrast with the indigenous culture of Senegal pre-colonization but still present in Dakar.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsLy AbdoulayAlbourahBoron Sarret is arguably the first film made by a black African. It illustrates poverty in Senegal, particularly for the working man.
- DirectorSouleymane CisséStarsDounamba Dany CoulibalyGogo DanbaFanta DiabateA young mute woman is raped and becomes pregnant, with disastrous consequences within her family. The film also sketches the social/economic situation in urban Mali in the 1970s, particularly in relation to the treatment of women.
- DirectorDjo MungaStarsPatsha BayManie MaloneDiplome AmekindraRiva returns to his home town of Kinshasa to sell fuel, however the people whom he stole it from are close behind and when Riva tries to get with a girl her crime boss boyfriend isn't too happy about this.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsAndongo DiabonRobert FontaineMichel RenaudeauAs World War II is going on in Europe, a conflict arises between the French and the Diola-speaking tribe of Africa, prompting the village women to organize their men to sit beneath a tree to pray.
- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyStarsLamine BaAl Demba CissChristoph ColombSarcastic look at Senegal's capital following the adventures of a somewhat immoral street urchin.
- DirectorOumarou GandaStarsOumarou GandaJoseph SalamatouZalika SouleyAn Islamic faithful returns from his holy pilgrimage to Mecca with the venerated title "el hajji". On his return he falls in love with his daughter's friend Santou, who is already engaged to be married to Garba. El Hadji however already has two wives and his second wife, Gaika, cannot stand the idea of another younger wife entering her house. She plots to kill Santou.
- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyStarsMagaye NiangMyriam NiangChristoph ColombMory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.
- DirectorDani KouyatéStarsFatoumata DiawaraSotigui KouyatéHabib DembéléEvery year the most beautiful girl will be sacrificed to the Python God. When a girl named Sia is the next to be sacrificed, she hides in the house of the village idiot, a man who goes around shouting hyper-aggressive criticisms against everything. Sia is found by the soldiers but the army commander had for some time prepared a revolt against the emperor and saves Sia on the way. Will Sia reveals the terrible secret she learned about the Python God ?
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsThierno LeyeMyriam NiangSeune SambA corrupt politician is cursed with impotence on the night of his third wedding after embezzling 100 tons of rice.