AFRICAN CINEMA
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- DirectorFrançoise EllongStarsPatricia BakalackBruno HenryAlain Bomo BomoMathilda is Marilyn, mother of Adam during the day and prostitute at night. She is ready for any sacrifice to raise her child...
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.
- DirectorRenaud BarretFlorent de La TullayeStarsLeon LikabuRoger LanduCoco NgambaliKinshasa, DRCongo, 2005: Benda Bilili, poor paraplegic street musicians, get noticed by a French film team. Studio recordings get their music out on album and 2009, they have concerts in Europe.
- DirectorWilm HuygenDocumentary following the 2011 Tour du Faso cycle race in Burkina Faso. Focusing on local stars and a German team.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsVenus SeyeMame NdoumbéAwa Sene SarrA forty-year-old woman refuses to give into the stigma of unwed motherhood and climbs the ladder of success in a male dominated field.
- DirectorDavid 'Tosh' GitongaStarsJoseph WairimuOlwenya MainaShix KapyengaA young, aspiring actor from upcountry Kenya dreams of becoming a success in the big city. In pursuit of this and to the chagrin of his brother and parents, he makes his way to Nairobi:the city of opportunity.
- DirectorOliver SchmitzStarsKhomotso ManyakaKeaobaka MakanyaneHarriet LenabeA touching mother-daughter relationship that reflects the modern South Africa.
- DirectorMerzak AllouacheStarsLamia BoussekineNabil AsliSamir El HakimSet in the northern Algerian port city of Mostaganem. The title refers to the hordes of refugees, the 'Harragas', who smuggle themselves out of the country via any means possible. Here we meet one such group, Rachid, Nasser and Imene who pay a smuggler, Hassan, to take them to Spain in his rickety boat. Along with a group of African and Arab migrants, they are risking all they have to cross the stormy Straits.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsFatoumata CoulibalyMaimouna Hélène DiarraSalimata TraoréWhen a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.
- 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.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsThierno LeyeMyriam NiangSeune SambA corrupt politician is cursed with impotence on the night of his third wedding after embezzling 100 tons of rice.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsTabata NdiayeAlioune FallMoustapha YadeIn protest of forced conversion to Islam, the Ceddo (outsiders) kidnap King Demba War's daughter Princess Dior Yacine and hold her hostage.
- DirectorMerzak AllouacheStarsNabil AsliAdila BendimeradKhaled BenaïssaThanks to the "civilian agreement" law, an Islamist is pardoned and reinstalled in society. He soon understands law doesn't erase the crimes he committed.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsMbissine Thérèse DiopAnne-Marie JelinekRobert FontaineA black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
- DirectorJudy KibingeStarsSusan WanjiruQdamah KipchumbaDavid Kiprotich MutaiSOMETHING NECESSARY is a film about a pivotal period in the life of Anne, a woman struggling to rebuild her life after the civil unrest that swept Kenya following the 2007 elections, claiming the life of her husband, the health of her son and leaving her isolated farm in ruins. Joseph, a troubled young gang member who participated in the countrywide violence is drawn to Anne and her farm seemingly in search of redemption. Both he and Anne need something that only the other can give to allow them to shed the painful memories of their past and move on, but will either of them find it?
- DirectorOusmane SembeneThierno Faty SowStarsSidiki BakabaHamed CamaraIsmaila CisséIn this semi-autobiographical film, black soldiers help to defend France, but are detained in prison camp before being repatriated home.
- DirectorCarlos AgullóMandy JacobsonStarsJean-Yves OllivierWinnie MandelaThabo MbekiA documentary that reveals the untold story of apartheid's fall, and the mysterious French businessman who was instrumental in Nelson Mandela's release from jail.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsAbou CamaraMarie Augustine DiattaYama DiedhiouBurial of a Christian political activist in a Muslim cemetary forces a conflict imbued with religious fervor. A satiric portrayal of religion and politics, sometimes humorous, sometimes deadly serious.
- DirectorShimmy MarcusStarsAlfie AllenMartin CompstonHannah CrightonA coming-of-age drama set in the 1970s Northern Soul underground music scene.
- DirectorAndrew MudgeStarsZenzo NgqobeNozipho NkelembaLebohang NtsaneA young man reluctantly embarks on a journey to his ancestral land of Lesotho to bury his estranged father, and finds himself drawn to the mystical beauty and hardships of the people and the land he had forgotten.
- DirectorScottnes L. SmithStarsNyaniso DzedzeBontle ModiselleMbuso KgarebeThe son of a famous street dancer tries to discover the truth about his father's tragic death 12 years prior. When he joins forces with his father's dance partner, he finds himself embroiled in a bitter rivalry that pushes him to his limit.
- 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.
- DirectorRene van RooyenTim TheronStarsTim TheronAnel AlexanderNadia BeukesAnother first for South Africa's fast-growing film industry: A multiple-storyline ensemble romantic dramedy capturing the essence of what love looks like in all its different shapes and sizes. Mooirivier is a film about relationships, about how we can't live without them, about how love always wins, even if it doesn't look, or turn out, the way you thought it would.
- DirectorOliver SchmitzStarsThomas MogotlaneMarcel van HeerdenThembi MtshaliMapantsula tells the story of Panic, a petty gangster who inevitably becomes caught up in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and has to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.
- DirectorShamim SarifStarsLisa RaySheetal ShethParvin DabasA drama centered on two women who engage in a dangerous relationship during South Africa's apartheid era.
- DirectorOliver HermanusStarsDeon LotzCharlie KeeganMichelle ScottPortrait of a closeted gay husband/father living a life of quiet middle-aged desperation who becomes fixated on a friend's handsome collegiate son, leading to an incident.
- 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.
- DirectorLouis de WittStarsKen GampuJoe LopezAbigail KubekaWhen a mysterious gangster starts sabotaging soccer team The Eagles' chance at winning the upcoming championship final, there is only one man who can save the day...Joe Bullet.
- DirectorDara KellChristopher NizzaWhen the South African government promises to 'eradicate the slums' and begins to evict shack dwellers far outside the city, three friends who live in Durban's vast shantytowns refuse to be moved. Dear Mandela follows their journey from their shacks to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela's example and become leaders in a growing social movement. By turns inspiring, devastating and funny, the film offers a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age.
- DirectorCatherine StewartStarsCamilla WaldmanSandi SchultzFezile MpelaThe story outlines the lives of the gay and lesbian experience and relationships in a contemporary South Africa.
- DirectorOliver HermanusStarsDenise NewmanKeenan ArrisonEmily ChildShirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son, Donovan - he was shot in the back of the neck on his way home from school one afternoon over a year ago. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. Shirley has no money, no job and no husband - he left without a trace months ago. Shirley's life now consists of trying to make ends meet by shoplifting and relying on the charity of others. When a young, eager occupational therapist, Tamsin Ranger, comes into their lives, Shirley hopes that it might lift her son's spirits and finally put them on the path to some form of stability. At the same time Shirley receives a phone call one afternoon informing her that Donovan's case is finally going to trial, but the glory is short lived when Shirley discovers that the shooter is one of Donovan's childhood friends. Her reaction to the betrayal is so overwhelming that she chooses not to tell Donovan in fear of further damaging his already unstable emotional state. Determined to make a change in their lives, Shirley actively decides to embrace their new circumstances, hoping that Donovan will follow her example. But his mental state continues to deteriorate and Tamsin is unsuccessful in distracting him from his ever-present disability. Shirley is eventually left without an sign of the family she once had. Set in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town, Shirley Adam's story is symptomatic of the relationship between violence and poverty - the destruction of an entire family is related to one single incident that cannot be erased or repaired. Riddled with the socio-political and racial tensions that plague these Cape Flats slums, Shirley Adams is the story of one woman's amazing strength and self sacrifice.
- DirectorParvez SharmaStarsMuhsin HendricksA.K. HoosenMazenA documentary on gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims across the Muslim and Western worlds.
- DirectorZola MasekoStarsTaye DiggsGabriel MannTumisho MashaA hot-shot journalist is swept up in a movement to challenge Apartheid in 1950s South Africa.
- DirectorFatin AbdulwahhabStarsOmar SharifSuad HusniYoussef WahbiA father invents a lurid past for his awkward young nephew to present him as an exciting suitor for his daughter.
- DirectorBronwen HughesStarsThomas JaneDavid O'HaraDexter FletcherThe life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.
- DirectorIdrissa OuedraogoStarsBakary SangaréMariam KabaAbdoulaye KomboudriSamba Traore returns to his village flush with funds. Soon enough he manages to charm the beautiful Saratou into marrying him and, along with another friend, builds the first bar their village has ever seen. But his conscience keeps nagging him and the police are on the lookout for the "gas station murderer."
- DirectorIdrissa OuedraogoStarsVusi KuneneDavid MohlokiNthati MosheshKini and Adams are two friends leaving in a Zimbabwe village who dream of repairing an old broken car, and moving to the city and starting life over.
- 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.
- DirectorIdrissa OuedraogoStarsFatimata SangaNoufou OuédraogoRoukietou BarryA small village in Burkina Faso. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine who saves her.
- DirectorMichel OcelotRaymond BurletStarsDoudou Gueye ThiawMaimouna N'DiayeAwa Sene SarrKirikou, an unusual little boy, must search the wisdom of the forbidden mountain in order to save his village from a spell cast by the evil sorceress Karaba
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMahamat-Saleh HarounStarsAli BarkaiYoussouf DjaoroAziza HisseineChad, 2006. After a forty-year civil war, the radio announces the government has just amnestied the war criminals. Outraged by the news, Gumar Abatcha orders his grandson Atim, a sixteen-year-old youth, to trace the man who killed his father and to execute him. Atim obeys him and, armed with his father's own gun, he goes in search of Nassara, the man who made him an orphan. It does not take long before he finds him. Nassara, who now goes straight, is married, goes to the mosque and owns a small bakery. After some hesitation Atim offers him his services as an apprentice. He is hired then it will be easy for him to gun down the murderer of his father. At least, that is what he thinks...
- DirectorMahamat-Saleh HarounStarsYoussouf DjaoroDiouc KomaEmile Abossolo M'boPresent-day Chad. Adam, fifty-five, a former swimming champion, is pool attendant at a smart N'Djamena hotel. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son Abdel. Terribly resentful, he feels socially humiliated. The country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces are attacking the government. The authorities demand that the population contribute to the "war effort", giving money or volunteers old enough to fight off the assailants. The District Chief constantly harasses Adam for his contribution. But Adam is penniless; he only has his son....
- DirectorSouleymane CisséStarsIssiaka KaneAoua SangareNiamanto SanogoA young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsLy AbdoulayAlbourahBoron Sarret is arguably the first film made by a black African. It illustrates poverty in Senegal, particularly for the working man.
- DirectorAhmed El MaanouniStarsBen BrahimAbdelwahad dreams of a life of wealth and wants breaks with tradition. His mother Hlima, a woman with extraordinary energy, is afraid that he will leave the village. After the death of his father he is the head of the family. Neither the family council nor the countless obstacles that stand in his way can prevent the young farmer from pursuing his plans for the future. Alyam, Alyam is a film about shattered dreams and the circumstances leading up to that point; about the shaking of the traditional social structure; about the strength born of desperation and the unrelenting dissipation of lost generations.
- DirectorAbderrahmane SissakoStarsAïssa MaïgaTiécoura TraoréMaimouna Hélène DiarraBamako. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up... In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court has been set up. African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for Africa's woes... Amidst the pleas and the testimonies, life goes on in the courtyard. Chaka does not seem to be concerned by this novel Africa's desire to fight for its rights...
- DirectorAhmed El MaanouniStarsLarbi BatmaNass-El GhiwaneAbderrahman PacoThe very popular Moroccan group Nass-El Ghiwane are filmed, in performances, meetings, interviews, and collaborations with other musicians.
- DirectorAdama DraboStarsFanta BereteOumu BerthéYamadou CisséA group of woman in an African village finds a mystical mask. Using the mask, they reverse gender roles, women act like men, and men act like women.
- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyStarsMoussa BaldéLissa BaleraAminata FallA girl sells copies of Soleil, the government paper.
- DirectorHenk PretoriusStarsEduan van JaarsveldtZethu Dlomo-MphahleleJerry MofokengThe story of the complications that ensue when an Afrikaans man and Zulu girl fall in love, especially when the traditional custom of "lobola", or dowry, makes things even more difficult for them.
- DirectorMarwan HamedStarsKarim Abdel AzizKhaled El-SawiNilli KarimWhile trying to help an inmate at the mental hospital, a psychotherapist unravels mysteries he never thought existed.
- 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.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJean CarmetJacques DufilhoCatherine RouvelDuring World War I, French colonists lost in African desert decide to attack their German neighbors.
- 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.
- DirectorGaston KaboréStarsSerge YanogoRosine YanogoJoseph NikiemaIn pre-colonial times a peddler crossing the savanna discovers a child lying unconscious in the bush. When the boy comes to, he is mute and cannot explain who he is. The peddler leaves him with a family in the nearest village. After a search for his parents, the family adopts him, giving him the name Wend Kuuni (God's Gift) and a loving sister with whom he bonds. Wend Kuuni regains his speech only after witnessing a tragic event that prompts him to reveal his own painful history.
- DirectorJean-Pierre Dikongue-PipaStarsPhilippe AbiaArlette Din BeliGisèle Dikongue-PipaNgando and Ndomé; are in love. Ngando wishes to marry Ndomé; but her family reminds him that the traditional dowry must be settled. Unfortunately, Ngando is poor and unable to fulfill the tradition. Ndomé; is pregnant and bears his child. According to the village tradition, she must take a husband, at least one who can afford to pay the dowry. The villagers decide that Ndomé; should marry Ngando's uncle, who has already three sterile wives. In despair, the young man kidnaps his daughter upon the day of the traditional feast. An African Romeo and Juliet story.
- DirectorFlora GomesStarsMaysa MartaPedro DiasAntonio Simao MendesA beautiful, intelligent and flirtatious young girl, Yonta, is secretly in love with a friend of her parents, Vicente, a hero of the war of independence. Vicente is unaware of her passion as she is of the love of a young man who sends her anonymous love letters.
- DirectorAthol FugardPeter GoldsmidStarsYvonne BrycelandKathy BatesAthol FugardAn elderly lady, living in (literally) the middle of nowhere, and fed up with small minded apartheid ideology, starts escaping into her own world of sculpting in her back yard and along with her (coloured) assistant Malgas, creates a world of wonder in the desert. Based on a true story by playwright Athol Fugard with great performances all round.
- 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.
- DirectorSalah AbouseifStarsAnwar WagdiMahmoud Al MelejiSamia GamalAbdel Sabour [Mahmoud El-Meliguy] was a thief and a smuggler known as The Beast to the people in one of the villages of upper Egypt; everyone was afraid of him, including the police. He enjoyed the protection of Redwan Pasha, [Abbas Fares] who in turn used him during elections to eliminate his rivals. Officer Raouf Saleh was sent to the village with his wife and son with the assignment of arresting The Beast. However The Beast and his gang worked together from the beginning trying to dispose of the officer and his family in any way possible.
- DirectorKamal El-ShaikhStarsFaten HamamahAhmad MazharMahmoud MoursyFaten Hamama plays a wife who wakes up one morning to discover she is married to her brother-in-law in this suspenseful drama. The confused woman soon learns that fifteen years have gone by and that she was injured in a bomb blast that killed her sister. A local doctor tries to prevent the woman's husband from killing her for the inheritance.
- DirectorYoussef ChahineStarsFaten HamamahOmar SharifZaki RostomA rich landlord floods and destroys a village on purpose to prevent the people living there from making a profit off their crops. What he doesn't know is that his own daughter is in love with Ahmed, a young man from the village.
- DirectorSalah AbouseifAhmad El-SabawiAmin Yousseff GhurabStarsTahiyyah KaryukaShukri SarhanShadiaA young man from the country arrives in Cairo to finish his education. His landlady, a widow and successful businesswoman in the quarter of the Citadel, seduces him. Although she teaches him much about life she also makes him forget his obligations to his family, his studies, even his religion. When he tries to put her aside she attempts to force him to give up everything in which he believes.
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsEriq EbouaneyAlex DescasThéophile SowiéThe true story of controversial leader of independent Congo Patrice Lumumba.
- DirectorRungano NyoniStarsMaggie MulubwaHenry B.J. PhiriNancy MuriloIn a remote Zambian community a girl is denounced as a witch and sent on a trajectory of exploitation, as a tethered member of a witches' camp, a witch for hire and a tourist exhibit.
- DirectorMohamed DiabStarsNilli KarimHany AdelMuhammad El-SebaiSet entirely in an 8m police truck, a number of detainees from different political and social backgrounds are brought together by fate, during the turmoil that followed the ousting of former president Morsi from power.
- DirectorMati DiopStarsMame Bineta SaneAmadou MbowTraoreIn a popular suburb of Dakar, workers on the construction site of a futuristic tower, without pay for months, decide to leave the country by the ocean for a better future. Among them is Souleiman, the lover of Ada, promised to another.
- DirectorAbderrahmane SissakoStarsIbrahim AhmedAbel JafriToulou KikiA cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.
- DirectorSouleymane CisséStarsFousseyni SissokoGoundo GuisséBalla Moussa KeitaFinye tackles the generation gap in post-colonial West Africa. Its heroine is the pot smoking daughter of a provincial military governor who falls in love with a fellow university student, the descendent of one of Mali's chiefs.
- DirectorAmil ShivjiStarsHawa AlisaCojack ChiloMagdalena ChristopherAfter the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria's tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community.
- DirectorSekou TraoréStarsMaimouna N'DiayeFargass AssandéAbidine DioariIn an African country plagued by civil war, a young idealistic lawyer is officially assigned to defend a rebel accused of war crimes.
- DirectorMansour Sora WadeStarsHubert KoundéRokhaya NiangGora SeckMythical story about a fishing village on the south coast of Senegal. Two men in the village are both in love with the same beautiful girl.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorPhilippe LacôteStarsBakary KonéSteve TientcheuJean Cyrille DigbeuA young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.