Born 100 years ago this year, Africa’s most legendary filmmaker - and a prolific novelist -remains relevant through his beautifully crafted political works.
Odunlade Adekola stars in Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman.
EbonyLife Media/Toronto International Film Festival/Netflix
Lifting awards at film festivals is just the start of the journey for documentaries like The Last Shelter (Mali), No U-Turn (Nigeria) and No Simple Way Home (South Sudan).
A still from Rafiki, a film by Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya (2018)
Rafiki/Big World Cinema
Discussions about the films on social media and online forums show that African queer lives are complex and don’t tell a single story.
A still featuring opposition leader Nelson Chamisa from the film President (2021).
Louverture Films/President/Encounters South African International Documentary Festival
The award-winning documentary - now on in South Africa - follows opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. But it spends too much time in meetings instead of giving insight into the bigger picture.
Illustration of an early stage human embryo.
nobeastsofierce via Shutterstock
Spurred by the impetus of the #MeToo movement, South Africa’s is the latest film and TV industry to introduce intimacy protocols to guide how intimate scenes are conceived and executed.
Mary Twala Mhlongo is the star of This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection.
Screengrab/Courtesy Urucu Media
Lesotho’s first-ever entry at the Oscars is a powerful story based on true-to-life events in which a village is to be forcibly evicted to make way for a new dam.
It wasn’t just the film Rafiki - a joyful lesbian love story - but also the experience of going to watch it after it was unbanned that created a new kind of freedom.
Tendaiishe Chitima, lead actress in the low-budget hit film Cook Off.
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Fespaco, Africa’s premier film festival, celebrated its 50th anniversary in Burkina Faso. For African cinema to survive, it must adapt to today’s audiences and forms of distraction.
Nigerian actress, Genevieve Nnaji in her film, ‘Lionheart’.
Netflix