Africa is a land of rich culture, heritage, art, and beauty, all of which are reflected in African cinema. From historical epics to intimate dramas, African movies offer a window into the lives, struggles, and triumphs of real people, capturing the depths of events that have left a mark on the African landscape and people. These films entertain and educate, raising awareness about critical issues while celebrating the resilience and spirit of the people they portray.
As one of the world’s best streaming sites, Netflix has thousands of movies to watch and has worked to expand its international offerings. African films on Netflix come from countries like Ghana, Namibia, Senegal, and of course Nigeria, which are often referred to as Nollywood films. African movies can span all genres, from drama to comedy to horror. They are known mainly for their high cinematography and storytelling quality.
Here's a curated list of some of the best African movies, showcasing a range of genres and themes:
African Movies on Netflix
Dramas and Thrillers
- Unroyal: This Nigerian movie tells the story of Princess Broma, a selfish aristocrat who suffers an accident and must rely on those around her to change her harmful ways.
- Black Rose: A dark movie about poverty, love, and family drama, where a young woman falls for the disarming Desmond. It's one of the few Nollywood films that depict rural life with both brutal honesty and emotional complexity.
- Broken: This film opens with a runaway bride who stumbles upon a man who returns to the city with her to save her father’s company from corporate debt.
- Swallow: A thrilling look at Nigerian history back in 1980s Lagos, based on a book of the same name and set in colonial Nigeria during the infamous War for Indiscipline.
- Amandla: The tale of two brothers who survived an intense childhood trauma together, now on opposite sides of the law. It explores themes of trust, loyalty, family, power, and betrayal in the gritty environment of South Africa.
- Cold Harbour: Focuses on a beat cop in Cape Town who discovers deep-seeded corruption while investigating a turf war.
Comedies and Romances
- The Wedding Party: The second highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time centers around the complete chaos that unfolds at a lavish wedding.
- The Perfect Picture: Set in Ghana’s capital city Accra, it focuses on the lives and loves of three women.
- Just in Time: A lighthearted film where a perfectionist bookstore employee gets her life turned upside down when she is tasked with caring for her cousin’s sassy 11-year-old daughter.
- Happiness Ever After: The highly anticipated sequel to Happiness is a Four Letter Word, picking up five years later with the ladies in new chapters, managing love lives, loss, and family.
Family and Animated Films
- The Adventures in Zambezia: An animated South African film about a young falcon who travels to the city of sacred birds and learns about community and his origins.
Documentaries
- My Octopus Teacher: A Netflix original documentary shot off the coast of South Africa, documenting the friendship between a free diver and a curious young octopus.
Oscar-Winner "My Octopus Teacher" Explores Unique Human-Octopus Friendship | Amanpour and Company
Other notable African Movies
- Lionheart: Made a cinematic splash as the first Netflix original production to be made in Nigeria! A young woman tries to take over her father’s life work in a male-dominated field.
- Rattlesnake: Also known as the Ahanna Story, is the remake of a classic 1995 action film.
- Material: Attempts to tackle some complex themes, including the multiracial nation-building that occurs in post-apartheid South Africa.
- Milisuthando: Bongela revisits her childhood in the former Republic of Transkei, once a “homeland” under apartheid, to examine how innocence and isolation shaped her understanding of race, love, and belonging.
- Unspoken War: Airing on M-Net and Showmax, this five-part documentary revisits South Africa’s undeclared conflict that happened between 1966 and 1989 across Angola, Namibia, and within the country itself.
- 3 Cold Dishes: Follows three women who were trafficked as young girls and emerged as powerful players in the precarious world of underground prostitution.
- King of Tema: A television series which follows the journey of a man who is forced to turn to a world of crime and deceit to save his dying mother.
- In Queen Lateefah: Deceit and lies form the bedrock of a gripping yet hilarious story.
African Movies Based on True Stories
African movies, are rich in history and diverse culture, and is a treasure trove of true story films-stories that are rooted in real events and individuals, offering audiences a look into the everyday life that makes up the African experience.
- 4.4.44: A poignant Nollywood film based on a true love story set in pre-colonial Nigeria, starring Nse Ikpe-Etim and Richard Mofe-Damijo.
- Amazing Grace: Showcases the life of British slave trader, John Newton, portrayed by Nick Moran, and his transformation into an abolitionist.
- The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Based on the true story of William Kamkwamba, portrayed by Maxwell Simba, who builds a windmill to save his drought-stricken village.
- Queen of Katwe: Tells the true story of Phiona Mutesi, played by Madina Nalwanga, who rises from the slums of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, to become a chess champion.
- The Athlete: Telling the story of Abebe Bikila, an Ethiopian marathon runner portrayed by Rasselas Lakew.
- 76': Set in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war and the 1976 military coup.
- Hotel Rwanda: A harrowing account of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, starring Don Cheadle as Paul Rusesabagina.
- 93 Days: Recounts the real-life events surrounding the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria.
- The Encounters: A historical drama set during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.
- The Last King of Scotland: Portrays the dictatorship of Ugandan President Idi Amin through the eyes of a fictional Scottish doctor.
Classic and Notable African Films
Beyond the contemporary offerings, several classic African films have left an indelible mark on cinema. These films often explore themes of colonialism, identity, and social change.
Read also: Faith-Based Movies
- Touki Bouki (1973): Two glamorous scofflaws and rebels of Senegal on a bike.
- La Noire de … (1966): A tale of sexual politics and the cultural norms of empire.
- Cairo Station (1958): A tragicomic masterpiece.
- I Am Not a Witch (2017): Zambian orphan is bizarrely accused by her townspeople of being a witch.
- Atlantique (2019): Ada is a young woman in Dakar engaged to be married to the wealthy, obnoxious Omar, but she is in love with Souleiman, an exploited labourer who is thinking of making the dangerous migrant journey overseas.
- District 9 (2009): A clever and prescient sci-fi satire about migrants and xenophobia.
- Waiting for Happiness (2002): A sweet and subtle portrait of an island community.
- The Battle of Algiers (1966): An extraordinary recreation of the 1950s Algerian uprising against French imperial rule.
- The Season of Men (2000): A lucid and compassionate film from the Tunisian writer-director Moufida Tlatli .
- Yeelen (1987): A magical quest narrative from the Malian film-maker Souleymane Cissé.
- Yaaba (1989): A simple, gentle tale from Idrissa Ouédraogo.
- Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975): The story of the Algerian revolution from the second world war to the war of independence.
- Of Good Report (2013): A noir drama-thriller with weird fantasy outbreaks, concerning forbidden love, a troubled past and psychological breakdown.
- Skoonheid (Beauty) (2011): A ferociously powerful, yet subtle and complex.
- The Wedding Party (2016): A raucous comedy of upmarket aspirational yearnings set in Lagos.
- Letter from My Village (1976): A delicate, witty film that straddles fact and fiction.
- Divine Carcass (1988): A droll, mysterious meditation on the nature of colonialism.
- The Nightingale’s Prayer (1959): An extravagant revenge melodrama, or Beauty-and-the-Beast fable.
- Borders (2017): A road movie about four very different women travelling across beautifully evoked landscapes from Senegal to Nigeria, having melodramatic, shocking or comic episodes on the hot and dusty road.
- Xala (1975): A somewhat-humorous look at the city of Dakar, its people, architecture, politics, social behavior, and even the white French tourists, and especially the influence of France's culture and its contrast with the indigenous culture of Senegal pre-colonization but still present in Dakar.
Films From Senegal, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Mali, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo/Zaire, Kenya, Lesotho, Niger, Rwanda and Zambia
African cinema is diverse, with unique contributions from various countries.
Read also: Must-See African American Love Stories
Read also: Must-See African Films
