Africa

Best African Films

Africa is the heart of the world. Heaped with incredible cultural diversity the continent is a force in the film world that is destined to breach across to cinemas worldwide in the future. You may already have seen some of the best African films featured below already. For example, 2009’s District 9 – an ingenious documentary style science fiction set in South Africa made it big overseas. Africa also has it’s own Hollywood in Nigeria’s Nollywood, which churns out almost as many films as Bollywood every year.

Find the best African films below. My advice would be to start with Black Girl and work your way up to Timbuktu.

Or if you’re looking for the best films from a particular country, head straight to their country pages using the links below:

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

*We’re still looking for the best African films from countries without pages. Send us your recommendations.

The Grand Marriage – The Big Comorian Event

The Grand Marriage Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Why Watch The Grand Marriage?

Check out one of the biggest cultural traditions of Comoros
It’s told by the locals
It’s only 48 minutes long

From: Comoros, Africa
Watch: YouTube, AlJazeera
Next: Batuque, In Search of Voodoo, Flesh Out

A made for TV Documentary

How can you tell that The Grand Marriage is a made for TV documentary? Well, besides from the obvious signs: that it’s made by a TV news network (Al Jazeera), and fits into an hour long TV segment with room for a small commercial break in the middle, you can also tell in the way that it’s made. For example, it starts with an opening introductory montage of shots from scenes to come later in the film. It’s there to try and grab the attention of any TV viewers currently watching the network in an attempt to get them to stay to watch the whole show. The content is also aimed at the armchair traveler. Just as the opening montage gives viewers a flavor of the documentary to come, the informative content is designed to appeal to viewers interested in world news and culture: those likely to be on the Al Jazeera channel. The level of detail and specificity is not necessarily something that viewers would otherwise directly seek out at the cinema or on streaming services.

Told by the Locals

One thing that makes The Grand Marriage standout versus other TV documentaries, is that it’s told completely by the locals. There’s no narrator, and therefore no one serving as a mediator to translate the locals words into something more palatable to our own customs. It allows the Comoran people to present their customs and culture from their own point of view, unchallenged by a foreign perspective. We’re the only one who can judge and interpret them. That being said, that does not mean that the documentary is completely free of bias. It could be that the people speaking are all from a particular class or background that gives us a less rounded view of Comoran culture. The groom, for example is a former government minister. But it does give the locals the power to represent themselves.

what’s so special about the grand marriage?

The Grand Marriage is worth a watch because it gives viewers an insight into Comoran culture through one of it’s biggest cultural customs. The grand marriages are the status builders of Comoran society. Plus they involve a lost of Comoran society – as you can see from the incredible number of attendees. The documentary doesn’t just show the main event, but all the preparatory ceremonies that go with it. It also gathers a range of voices to comment on the ceremony, from the bride and groom to be themselves, to the whole community involved to give a balanced perspective. So if you’re interested in learning a bit about Comoran culture, this is a good film to start with.

What to Watch Next

If you want to watch more cultural documentaries from Africa, check out Batuque, a look at music from the Cape Verde islands. You could also check out In Search of Voodoo from Benin, which looks at the west African voodoo culture.

Or if you’d like to see some more films centered around marriage, check out Saudi Runaway, featuring a Saudi girl trying to escape from an arranged marriage, or Flesh Out, featuring a Mauritanian woman bulking up for her groom.

The Cursed Ones (Ghana) – A Murder Mystery in Rural Ghana

The Cursed Ones Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Murder, witchcraft, corruption, and superstition. The Cursed Ones has a lot going on to keep you entertained for the duration of the film. If you’re looking for a story like the protagonist in this film, then watch The Cursed Ones for free on Flix Premiere.

Image result for the cursed ones

Why Watch The Cursed Ones?

To see that witch trials are still happening around the world (also see I Am Not A Witch)
If you love a good murder mystery
For a trip to a remote town in rural Ghana
Learn that the people are not always right (we are victims of fake news and scheming pastors)

The Breakdown

The Cursed Ones starts with a young pastor with a black eye listening to a tape recording. We hear that there has been murder in the town the pastor is from. It’s a flash forward, intended to get us quickly involved into the plot and watch on.

After the intriguing opening scene we get a lot of plot exposition. We are shown how one of the village hunters finds a young mute girl (Asabi) in the woods and brings her home. Then we follow Godwin, a journalist from the city, sent to cover the festival in the hunter and pastor’s home town. It’s obvious the town is remote. There doesn’t appear to be any running water or electricity and it’s surrounded by lush forests. It’s the perfect setting for a murder mystery.

Corruption in the Church & Witchcraft?

The director first shows the head pastor of the village talking to one of the villagers inside a pretty dark room. The lack of colour in the room, contrasted to the bright colours outdoors, makes the scene appear pretty ominous. It’s an early clue to the audience, that the head pastor should not be trusted.

In contrast to the head pastor, the young pastor is friendly and talkative, and is obviously committed to his teaching (he doesn’t leave his class to be interviewed by Godwin). Because of his popularity, he seems like the better fit for the head pastor role. As a result, the head pastor seeks extreme ways to control his congregation. He claims that the devil has found his way into the village and lives in the young ‘witch’, Asabi. He exploits the superstitions of the villagers to imprison Asabi, claiming that only he can save them if they kill her and continue to follow him.

The plot gets a little more complex when a witch doctor arrives on the scene and starts extorting money from the villagers to ‘protect’ their children from evil spirits. Whilst the head pastor challenges the villagers trust in this witch doctor, it later becomes clear that they have been colluding to extort money from the village. The whole story challenges the integrity of the church and gullible congregations.

Conclusion & what to watch next

The Cursed Ones challenges the integrity of the church and the gullible villagers that blindly follow them. They are both to blame for the murders and the witch trials. There’s a lot going on in this film, which makes the plot a bit busy, but will keep you entertained throughout.

For a more artistic portrayal of ‘witches’ in Africa, check out Zambia’s I Am Not a Witch. It features another young girl, who is accused of being a witch because she doesn’t talk. It dives deeper into the prejudices and strange superstitions.

If you liked the mystery element of this film, I recommend watching October 1. It’s a Nigerian movie that follows an old policeman trying to solve 3 murder cases in a rural town to help Nigeria achieve independence from Britain.

Sleepwalking Land (Mozambique) – A Classic Novel on the Big Screen

Sleepwalking Land Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Have you read Mia Couto’s brilliant post-colonial novel Sleepwalking Land? If you haven’t and you love reading, you should check it out now. If you haven’t got time to read, you can watch the film which does a great job at translating the novel onto the big screen. Check out the film here (Amazon).

Why Watch Sleepwalking Land?

It’s quicker than reading the book (although I recommend you read it if you have time)
If you like post-apocalyptic style stories
To learn about the effect of colonialism and war on Mozambique
If you like magical realism (made famous by Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

The Breakdown

Sleepwalking Land starts with an old man (Tuahir) and a young boy (Muidinga) walking down a desolate dirt track. We are not told who they are or where they are going, but we can tell they are in danger. Not because, they are being targeted, but because they are roaming a war-torn country. They hide in the bushes as a gang of men bragging about killing people walk past and then reemerge to find a burned-out bus full of dead bodies. They decide to remove the bodies and call it their temporary home.

If you’re ever read or seen Cormac McCarthy’s The Road you might recognise this environment. In both The Road and Sleepwalking Land there’s an old man and a young boy roaming a desolate land trying to survive. But contrary to The Road where we know the two protagonists are father and son, the connection between the protagonists in Sleepwalking Land is never made clear.

However, we get a clue to their past lives from a journal that Muidinga finds by the burned-out bus belonging to a man named Kindzu. Each day, they read an extra chapter of the journal and immerse themselves in Kindzu’s story. For Tuahir, Kindzu’s life probably reminds him of his past life, which he has blocked from his memory. For Muidinga, Kindzu’s life gives him a possible explanation to his past which amnesia has prevented him from remembering.

Conclusion & What to Watch Next?

Teresa Prata’s adaptation of Mia Couto’s film is a worthy of your time. The main problem it faces is cutting the novel into 90mins, so if you’ve read the book you might think that the film crams in too much in too little time.

If you want to watch more films like this with characters wandering through desolate landscapes check out the post-apocalyptic The Road, which is good but bleak. You should also check out the art-house film Mimosas following wanderers from different centuries through the Moroccan mountains and deserts.

Or if it’s great African films you’re after, check out Abouna from Chad, a story about two sons searching for their lost Dad. There’s also Timbuktu, an Academy Award nominee from Mali where you’ll see the effect of the growing influence of Islamic fundamentalism on the Malian town.

Bigman Wahala – Pan African Film Festival 2020

Bigman Wahala is an enjoyable road-trip comedy with commercial appeal that focuses on the unlikely relationship between a poor taxi driver and a wanted former government official on the run. It never takes itself too seriously and even gets away with poking a bit of fun at both the ‘Bigman’ and military governments as well as the gullibility of the public.

Bigman Wahala starts with Honest, our friendly taxi driver, stuck in a traffic jam in Accra. The frantic John Woo style cutting rapidly builds pressure until Honest spots a gap in the traffic and races on home. It’s a sign that this road-trip comedy will be filled a few bursts of tense energy to propel it forward.

The next comes when an armed jeep full of soldiers carrying assault rifles descends on the Government building to stage a successful coup d’état. Like the opening traffic scene, the attack is full of fast cuts that cross the usual 180 boundaries of Hollywood cutting which makes it appear very chaotic. However, the insurgents win a quick victory that seems a bit too easy – perhaps a satirical jab at how many coups there have been in Western Africa over the last years. It’s presented as something a bit too familiar. Nevertheless, the insurgents quickly assume control of the airwaves and order all former government officials to report to their nearest police station. This is when we start following ‘Bigman’ Joseph, the former minister of the health department and follow his attempt to escape the country.

Our Bigman is comically selfish. As soon as he hears the news, he leaves his wife to collect his huge stash of money from the safe in his office. Whilst he’s there, some insurgents arrive to look for him, so he escapes through the back entrance and jumps into the nearest taxi, which just so happens to be driven by Honest. This kicks off a light buddy road trip movie between Bigman Joseph and Honest, as Honest helps Bigman to escape the country on lockdown.

Whilst the ending undermines the class boundaries which define the rest of the film in its’ we’re all human message, Bigman Wahala for the most part is a fun road trip comedy built on the classic Fish Out of Water and How the Mighty Have Fallen tropes.

Head to our Pan African Film Festival Hub for more reviews from PAFF 2020.

The Silence of the Forest – An African ‘Black’ Savior Movie

The Silence of the Forest Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

The Silence of the Forest is a modern take of the white savior trope in Africa. However, instead of featuring a white European, there’s a Central African black man, Gonaba, who returns home from Paris to help modernize his country. The problem is, just like the Africans didn’t need the Europeans, the Pygmy people that he tries to civilize, don’t need him.

From: Central African Republic, Africa
Watch: Kanopy, IMDb
Next: Dances with Wolves, Cry Freedom, N!ai

The Breakdown

Gonaba returns home dressed in a suit, signifying his connection to the western word. He’s called a white man by the boat’s captain, because compared to the rest of the locals on the boat, he’s overdressed. Whilst he obviously isn’t white, it’s the first sign that he’s lost his connection to the people of the Central African Republic and will never be able to truly see life from the African perspective again.

A few years later, Gonaba is one of the country’s leading ministers. Problem is, he still feels like he hasn’t achieved what he set out to do; help the country he returned to. The country is still keeping the population distracted from poverty with Independence Day parades and bike races and not trying to implement positive change. His disillusion with the direction of his country is marked by his dull khaki dress. His attempts to westernize the country have failed, so why should he wear a suit like the rest of the ministers, a symbol of Western success.

So, to restart his mission, Gonaba chooses to fight for the rights of the Pygmy people. They’re looked down upon by everyone else, who treat them like animals. The President even tells Gonaba that they’re just a ‘tourist attraction for the country to exploit’. Gonaba, having studied Jean Jacques Roussea in France wants them to be seen as equal. However, instead of changing the minds of the people he knows, he goes on a white savior mission into the jungle to educate and civilize them.

Like Dances With Wolves, Pocahantas, and Avatar, Gonaba heads into the wilderness and becomes a honorary member of the indigenous Pygmy society. Trouble is, like previous white savior films, he never sees the indigenous people as equal to himself. He never accepts them and their culture for what it is, seeking instead to civilize them up to his standards of modern society. He still views their way of life as backward and something he can change to create modern pygmy men and women that can integrate into African and Global society. Ironically, the way he treats them is just a repeat of the good-intentioned European colonists’ treatment of African people a few decades before.

Unfortunately, The Silence of the Forest is as heavy handed as it’s American predecessors. It’s interesting to see the white savior narrative used in a purely African film, but because it hits all the same tropes as previous films, it doesn’t feel new or unique. It also fetishes the lives of the indigenous pygmy people. Their lives are portrayed as idyllic and at one with nature, as you would have seen in Dances with Wolves and Avatar. They’re never portrayed from their own perspective. Instead of immersing ourselves in their way of life, The Silence of the Forest gives us a voyeuristic glimpse of a world through the eyes of a do-good African. It creates a world that feels separate from our society, a world that we dangerously can’t imagine existing or disappearing from the modern world we live in.