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.

Ayinla (Nigeria) – Pan African Film Festival 2022

Ayinla is inspired by the life of Apala music legend Ayinla Omowura. Set in 1970s Abeokuta, the film charts his rise in the local, national, and international music scenes and the tribulations and ultimate tragedy that accompany his fiery character.

Whilst this film is a dramatized story about Ayinla, it starts with a number of home-video style interviews from local politicians and his friends. These are all real people talking, not actors, and their interviews are used to set up the importance of Ayinla. He’s an artist whose renown never hit the astronomical highs of Fela Kuti or King Sunny Ade, but with these interviews and the dramatized story of his life, director, and fellow Abeokuta resident, Tunde Kelani shows he’s worthy of international recognition.

The highlight of Ayinla is the music. Whilst not all of the lyrics are subtitled, you can tell that Ayinla was a playful and political lyricist from the songs that are. They’re all cut into the movie pretty smoothly and give the film the star soundtrack to promote his legacy. Kelani also shoots Abeokuta beautifully, making it appear to be a picturesque tropical city with greenery and Ulumo Rock dominating the drone shots. Another plus is that the entire film is shot in Yoruba, staying true to the region the film is based in, instead of opting for English in an attempt to appeal to an international audience.

The only downsides of this movie is that it doesn’t feel complete. It feels more like a bunch of episodes of Ayinla’s life that have been pieced together. The only thin plot-line is that of Ayinla preparing for his trip to London, but even this only begins to guide the story in the final part of the movie. As pointed out by Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku for afrocritik the film also introduces a lot of plot points that are never developed – such as Ayinla’s pregnant wife. Luckily the music for the most part covers up for the lack of plot.

For anyone into Nigerian music, or biopic style movies on making it in the music industry, Ayinla is worth a watch. It’s a decent tribute to both Ayinla Omowura and Abeokuta, the colorful city that both the director and the music star share.

Check back to our Pan African Film Festival 2022 page for more reviews coming out of the 30th edition of the festival.

Ashakara – A Togolese Post-Colonial Pharma Heist Movie

ASHAKARA FILM DIFFICULTY RANKING: 2

An African doctor finds a miracle cure to a deadly virus and decides to mass produce the drug at low cost in Africa. However, a pharmaceutical multinational finds out and sends an agent to Africa to sabotage his plans to maintain their position in the industry. Ashakara is an entertaining pseudo-heist movie that pits African medicine against the imperial nature of the big pharmaceutical companies and capitalism.

From: Togo, Africa
Watch: IMDb, Kanopy
Next: Black Girl, Coming from Insanity, In Search of Voodoo

The Breakdown

Ashakara starts with multiple narratives featuring different characters with different intentions regarding the new miracle cure. There’s the African doctor who wants to spread the miracle cure across Africa; a foreigner that has been sent to the country by a big pharmaceutical company to sabotage to ensure their continued profitability worldwide; as well as the African doctor’s assistant who wants to sell the secret recipe of the miracle cure for instant riches. Each party represents a different part of Post-Colonialism: the Doctor represents Africa’s hope for true independence from continued European imperialism, represented by the foreigners of the big pharmaceutical company, whilst the doctor’s assistant represents the global net of capitalism that drives greed and corruption. It’s a film that emphasizes African sustainability, both in the power of African medicine vs. ineffectual western medicine (the prison guard’s constant headaches and the rare disease are only cured by the African fetishist), and the community driven financial support available in tontines vs. the predatory nature of the money lender and big pharma company representing global capitalism. Capitalism and Imperialism drive the villains in this movie.

The initial exposition phase is livened up by the upbeat Togolese music layered in the film and stock shots of the busy Togolese capital city. It imbues the film with energy to keep viewers attentive (including a few musical interludes added for extra effect). The musical presence fades as Ashakara moves into the second half of the movie as the action kicks in to keep the viewers attention.

Ashakara also includes a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey in the European pharmaceutical agent’s portable artificial intelligence system named VAL (a riff on HAL). The agent carries VAL around in a case throughout the movie and uses it to connect with his demanding boss back in Europe. He also uses it to solve the crime and win his independence from his boss. It’s a surprise Sci-Fi addition to this heist movie that makes the European Pharma company seem even more villainous and perhaps compares Europe’s treatment of Africa as an ‘conquerable area’ to the Space colonization in 2001.

If you’re looking for an African film with plenty of Pro-African themes mixed with a few sci-fi and Voodoo elements backed by African music, dance, and dress, you need to watch Ashakara. It manages to pull together a number of narratives and characters into an entertaining heist movie that pits European imperialism and capitalist greed against indigenous African medicine and culture.

What to Watch Next

If you’re looking for more Post-Colonialist African movies, check out Black Girl from Senegal – one of the most famous films from the continent – or The Burial of Kojo from Ghana if you’re looking for something a bit more experimental.

Or if you’d like to see more films that celebrate indigenous medicine over Western medicine watch Embrace of the Serpent which follows a shaman in the Amazon or In Search of Voodoo to find out more about Voodoo culture in Benin.

Lastly, for more African heist thrillers, go seek out Coming from Insanity from Nigeria.

Where I Come From (Cameroon) – Pan African Film Festival 2022

11 year old Mambi relies on her luck at gambling to pay off her father’s debts and save money for education in Where I Come From. However, as her father’s own gambling addiction gets worse, Mambi sacrifices her own dreams to protect her father.

The first thing I learned from watching Mambi was that English is spoken in Cameroon. All of the previous films I’ve seen from Cameroon were in French so I ignorantly assumed the whole country spoke French. The reality is that whilst around 80% of the country’s population are in French speaking regions, the 20% in the North, along the Nigerian border, speak English. The English speaking region has recently become a hotbed for film production, earning it the nickname ‘Collywood’ to differentiate itself from Nigeria’s neighboring Nollywood. Three of the industry’s films have even been bought up by Netflix: the award winning The Fisherman’s Diary, A Man for the Weekend, and Broken. Where I Come From might be hoping to join them soon.

Unfortunately the plot feels a bit too similar to a host of other African films that focus on poverty and promote education and stable family life such as Hand of Fate, Jebel Nyoka, and Shaina. Even though their situations all seem impossibly bleak, education is presented as a panacea for everything. It almost comes across as a government PSA because it feels so unrealistic given the protagonists’ circumstances. The promotion of gambling (and luck) as a solution also felt a bit off. Whenever Mambi gambles, inspirational, uplifting music starts as if it’s encouraging her to gamble. Promoting education and the luck of gambling in the same movie doesn’t match up.

Despite the cookie-cutter plot, Where I Come From is at least memorable for it’s brilliant lead performance from 11 year old Faith Fidel. She deservedly was nominated for Most Promising Actor at the African Movie Academy Awards last year and should be an actor to look out for in the future. It’s also worth noting that 95% of the film’s crew were under 30, so look out for more from Takong Delvis and his team in future.

Check back to our Pan African Film Festival 2022 page for more reviews coming out of the 30th edition of the festival.

The Cathedral – A Laid Back Tour of Port Louis from a Local

THE CATHEDRAL FILM DIFFICULTY RANKING: 2

The Cathedral follows Lina, a young woman wandering Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius. She interacts with friends and family around the city in a carefree manner which is only challenged (slightly) when her dancing catches the eye of a foreign photographer.

From: Mauritius, Africa
Watch: IMDb, Kanopy
Next: The Courtyard of Songs, Epicentro, Coffee and Cigarettes

The Breakdown

The Cathedral is based on a short story written by Ananda Devi. However, the tone of the film feels completely different from the reviews of the book which emphasize the hopeless poverty of the main characters. In contrast, the film has a very laidback island feel thanks to the light background music, sunshine, and warm colors. It also helps that most of the film follows Lina roaming around Port Louis, stopping at stalls to chat to vendors and catching conversations happening around her. Her wandering gives her and the film a very care-free nature – even the conflict that comes towards the end of the movie doesn’t feel that serious.

However, it does feel like The Cathedral is trying a bit too hard to be poetic. This is particularly noticeable in the two extra narrators that interrupt Lina’s narrative. One is a personified narrative voice of the city’s cathedral. It’s meant to give a poetic character to the city, but it comes across a bit unnatural for a film, as talking buildings are more expected in classroom historical documentaries or children’s shows. The other narrative voice comes from a foreign photographer. Like the cathedral, the photographer’s narrative voice feels strange because it interrupts Lina’s narrative at various points of the film. It’s also never diegetic – instead his narrative voice is layered over him taking exaggerated pictures of locals (which are also awkwardly voyeuristic). Because the two narrators interrupt the flow of the film and feel unnatural next to the film’s images, the poetic impact they’re intended to create doesn’t come across.

It’s also a bit uncomfortable how much Lina is fetishized. Everyone follows her – the camera, the photographer, and the cathedral. The cathedral speaks about how she is the light of the city and that she’d be missed if she ever left; the foreign photographer takes pictures of her dancing in the street without asking, whilst the camera follows her as if she’s the center of a fashion photo shoot. She’s heavily objectified and treated a bit like she’s a pretty bird flying around the city. She also isn’t given any depth. Her character development is overlooked in her care-free wandering character. Perhaps her character’s fetishization is a metaphor for a country still trapped in a web of colonial interests, however it’s more likely that it’s a byproduct of the director’s male gaze. So if you’re looking for a tour around Port Louis from a fetishized young woman, this film might be for you.

The laid back feel, whilst contrasting with the book reviews, at least makes The Cathedral an easy watch. It doesn’t feel too complex, but perhaps there are some deeper themes it alludes to from the book that doesn’t quite translate to the movie.

What to Watch Next

The Cathedral reminded me of a combination of 3 types of films:

The slightly cheesy slice of life sun-drenched dramedies like The Courtyard of Songs from Lisbon which present happy, dreamy city life by the sea.
Movies that bounce between casual conversations like Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes, which make you feel like a fly on the wall of a particular place.
Documentaries that exoticize it’s subjects like Sauper’s Epicentro (in this case it’s a pretty local girl instead of a group of local kids).

Tug of War (Tanzania) – Pan African Film Festival 2022

In colonial Zanzibar, a young revolutionary and runaway wife from different parts of the city meet. As their romance grows, so does their revolutionary fervor in this adaptation of Shafi Adam Shafi’s novel.

It’s rare that you see Tanzanian films on the international film festival circuit, especially those that are directed by Tanzanians. The industry in the East African country is dominated by Swahiliwood’s low budget, rapidly made ‘Bongo films,’ which, like the majority of African cinema industries are largely ignored by Western film festivals. So it’s nice to see a Tanzanian representative on the international film festival circuit in Tug of War, even if it isn’t your typical Tanzanian film. Unlike ‘Bongo films,’ Tug of War‘s production quality matches the criteria for Western film festivals, with beautiful cinematography inspired by Wong Kar Wai, good production design, and great acting. It perfectly fits the Western expectations of ‘good’ international cinema.

The warmly patient pace of Tug of War defines the films tone, characters, and relationships. It’s created through the slow motion shots and orange tinted film that the director, Amil Shivji, uses throughout the film, just as Wong Kar Wai did in In the Mood for Love. The slow motion highlights some of the defining moments in the character’s relationships. This is clearest in the shot of Denge and Yasmin’s first glance of each other. Stretching out this fleeting glance captures the longing in that brief look, symbolically starting the embers that starts their romance. These slow motion moments also signify their enlightenment. One shot shows Yasmin pushing against the flow of a moving crowd. At regular speed, the shot might be forgettable, but in slow motion it becomes symbolic of her going against the grain of her family’s expectations and grabbing her own independence. Lastly the slow motion also emphasizes the link between their budding romance and new-found independence with the anti-colonial revolution that stands against both. This is captured in the slow motion scene of red pamphlets falling between them like wedding confetti (as in the image above).

For a beautifully shot, anti-colonial Tanzanian film inspired by Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, watch Tug of War. It features sumptuously warm cinematography, a slow burning romance, and a fight for independence. This interracial, extra-marital love is anti-colonial. Viva la revolución.

Check back to our Pan African Film Festival 2022 page for more reviews coming out of the 30th edition of the festival.