The Definitive List Of African and African Diaspora Movies
Celebrating the African continent movies!
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- DirectorCarlos DieguesStarsAntonio PitangaLéa GarciaEliezer GomesThe life of a runaway slave who founded the Quilombo dos Palmares, an outlaw community of Brazilian slaves.
- DirectorSouleymane CisséStarsIssiaka KaneAoua SangareNiamanto SanogoA young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorDjibril Diop MambétyStarsLamine BaAl Demba CissChristoph ColombSarcastic look at Senegal's capital following the adventures of a somewhat immoral street urchin.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorOusmane SembeneStarsLy AbdoulayAlbourahBoron Sarret is arguably the first film made by a black African. It illustrates poverty in Senegal, particularly for the working man.
- 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.
- 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 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."
- DirectorGaston KaboréStarsYacouba KaboréTinfusi YerbangaColette KaboréA blacksmith falls off his bicycle when he tries to avoid a tortoise which crosses his path. He brings the animal home to his twelve year old son, Rabi, who becomes so fascinated that he forgets his chores at this father's shop. When the angry smith removes the tortoise, Rabi's grandfather, Pusga, helps Rabi find a larger one to consol the boy. Rabi wants to tame the animal and this new obsession leads him to defy parental authority. Pusga gently opens the boy's eyes to the visible and invisible ways of nature. Rabi starts to understand liberty, responsibility and respect for life. In turn he awakens long buried sentiments in the grandfather.
- 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.
- DirectorFanta Régina NacroStarsMoussa CisséGeorgette ParéAdama OuédraogoLa Nuit de la Vérité is situated in an imaginary West African country. After ten years of civil war between the government army of the Nayak, led by 'Le président', and the Bonande rebels led by Colonel Theo, there is some sign of peace negotiations. But not everyone is in favor of peace and one can feel the tension. The night of truth starts with a festive dinner, but the village idiot Tomoto always seems capable of ruining the attempts for peace with violence and provocation.
- DirectorLaurent SalguesStarsMakena DiopRasmané OuédraogoFatou Tall-SalguesA Nigerien peasant comes looking for work in Essakane, a dusty gold mine in Northeast Burkina Faso, where he hopes to forget the past that haunts him.
- DirectorAndrew DosunmuStarsDanai GuriraIsaach De BankoléAnthony OkungbowaAdenike and Ayodele, a Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn, are having trouble conceiving a child - a problem that defies cultural expectations and leads Adenike to make a shocking decision that could either save or destroy her family.
- DirectorAssane KouyatéStarsModibo TraoréDjénéba KonéFily TraoréHamalla is banished from his village in Mali, due to ancient prejudices. He returns four years later versed in modern technology at a time in which the village's future hangs on the brink as the holy well of the ancestors, symbol of the spirituality of the entire community, is contaminated. In the face of epidemic, Hamalla's must convince the villagers of the need to purify the water.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 MambétyStarsDieye MaAminata FallDemba BâA broke and dopey musician, constantly harassed by his exasperated landlady, glues his lottery ticket to his door and when it turns out to be a winner must carry his door to the lottery office.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorGaston KaboréStarsJean-Claude BamogoAbderramane BoufachaAlassane DakissagaIn an early 19th century African village, Wend Kuuni - a young man, lives with his adopted family after his mother was killed as a witch. When Pughneere - his adopted sister - becomes ill, the villagers suspect Wend Kuuni. In order to save Pughneere's life (and his own) he must set out on a journey to find a healer. His quest brings him in contact with people around him and is a journey of self-discovery.