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:
Freedom Fields follows a group of Libyan women trying to start up the women’s Libyan football team. They’ve all grown up watching sports stars like Messi and Ronaldo and want to be just like them. However, in a fiercely patriarchal society, their dreams are under threat from extremist preachers and their conservative followers.
Want to truly get involved in a film? In Felicite you are given the story-line and a bit of character development before you are almost left to your own devices. Like the great works of literature, you’ll have to add your own interpretations to draw your own conclusions. Also, there’s one thing that this film has over the great works of literature: the music!
Why Watch Felicite?
If you like music. The Kasai Allstars are all over this film!
To experience the chaos of Kinshasa
To take part in the film making process – like in the best pieces of literature, you’ll get to add your own interpretations
Come on, how many opportunities do you get to watch great film from the DRC?
The Breakdown
The film starts with Beya singing in a dusty bar in Kinshasa. The bar is small, the lighting is dim, and locals are clustered around tables drinking and catching up. As the locals drink and chat Beya puts crams everything into her voice. It’s like she’s trying everything to get everyone’s attention, to stand out in chaotic bar in a chaotic city.
Music is the driving force of Felicite. There’s the expressive, more free form music of the Kasai Allstars and Beya, and the structured symphony orchestra. The structured orchestral music signifies the moments of our lives that we cannot control: fate. It appears when Beya’s son is hospitalised and for other events out of her control. In contrast, the bluesy music of the Kasai Allstars signifies Beya’s response to fate. The melancholic emotion she puts into her singing is her acceptance of her fate and inability to control it.
The film is split into two parts. The first part is told in a classical format that all of us brought up on Hollywood films would recognise. You learn a bit about Beya, then her son is hospitalised, so she has to try and find money to pay for the treatment. It’s pretty familiar storytelling. In contrast, the second part is a lot more artistic and subjective. There’s some visions and dreams mixed into all the music. Unlike in part one where we can just accept what is shown to us, in part two we have to actively engage with the film and construct our own interpretations.
Conclusion
Felicite is a work of art. Not in the sense that all movies are works of art, but in the sense that it pushes the boundaries of film. It is a champion of creativity, and uses music, and art (through the visions and dreams) to create a much more unique film. Best of all, unlike a lot of films, you are expected to take part in the film making process and add your own meaning.
If you’re a boxing fan or simply a regular gym rat, you’ll be able to sympathise with Christ in Boxing Libreville. He’s a boxer who trains all day and works all night to try to become the best boxer in Gabon as the hope of a new political future builds in the background.
If you’re looking for a drama about a man blinded by his pride forced to look at reality, you’ve come to the right place. A Screaming Man follows former swimming champ, Adam as he lives a life he loves, working as a pool attendant at a luxury hotel. However, as Civil War looms, he’s forced to reconsider what he values most in life.
Do you know how to identify a witch? If you do, do you know how to keep them from flying away? I am not a Witch will provide you with all you need to know about witches in Zambia. Go watch this dark satire based on real life ‘witch camps’ in Africa.
Why Watch I Am Not a Witch?
See your first film from Zambia! (If you’ve already seen a Zambian film let me know what you saw – comment below)
Learn how to identify a witch and prevent them from flying away!
If you love satirical films – especially with a hint of magical realism
Because 9 year old Margaret Mulubwa is excellent in the star acting role
The Breakdown
Little ‘Shula’ is taken to the police for strangely staring at a local villager. As no one knows where she has come from, and because she is too shy to respond to speak, she is quickly denounced as a witch.
So what happens to the people denounced as witches? First, they’re taken to a special witch camp, which is pretty much an outdoor zoo where tourists can come and take pictures. To keep them there, each ‘witch’ has a ribbon attached to a tree attached to their back to stop them flying away. Life as a witch isn’t great!
Director Rungano Nyoni subtly satirises the whole film. There are moments when you think the police officer doesn’t believe in witchcraft before he convicts Shula. Nyoni walks a fine line between making the film too comedic and too serious. Ultimately she does it incredibly well and creates a film that communicates a serious matter without being too heavy or light.
The Breakdown
I am not a Witch is original and clever. It’s a satirical film about real life witches in Zambia splashed with dashes of magical realism. The film is carried by the excellent performance of 9 year old Margaret Mulubwa. Go find and watch this film if you want to celebrate unique international film.
You must be logged in to post a comment.