Portal:African cinema

Jadesola Osiberu is a Nigerian writer, director producer, and founder of Greoh Studios. In 2024 she was named one of the “40 Most Powerful Women in International Film” by The Hollywood Reporter along with fellow Nollywood heavyweights Mo Abudu and Funke Akindele.  In 2017, Osiberu wrote and directed her first feature, Isoken, a romantic comedy-drama that won her best director at the 2018 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards and an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Director nomination. Her next film Nigerian Trade was followed by Sugar Rush (2019), then Nollywood’s 4th highest-grossing film; Ayinla (2021) based on the life of the popular Apala musician Ayinla Omowura; and Brotherhood (2022).  In September 2022, Osiberu's Greoh Studios signed a three-year deal with Amazon Prime Video to develop and produce original scripted TV series and feature films. The first film from that deal, Gangs of Lagos (2023), was Amazon Prime's first film from Africa. Her upcoming film, Everything Scatter is a crime thriller that follows five young people during a day of protests in Lagos.

Rencontres du Film Court Madagascar is an annual film festival held in the capital Antananarivo that showcases short films from around the continent. It is the only film festival in Madagascar. This year’s festival takes place from July 5-12.

The Festival was founded in 2006 by Laza Razanajatovo, known as Laza, a Malagasy filmmaker and producer, and is organized by L'Association Rencontres du Film Court, the Institut Français de Madagascar, and Rozifilms. The festival receives around 350 films from 40 African countries for the official competition. About thirty films make it to the final selection and screen in one of four categories: fiction, documentary, animation, and audience award.

The award of RFC is called Zebu d'Or (Golden Zebu) and is handed out to the winner of each competition category.

The 45th edition of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) takes place from July 18 to 28. African feature films in contention include Sonti by Terrence Aphane, The Village Next To Paradise by Mo Harawe, and Who Do I Belong To by Meryam Joobeur.

Our Father directed by Biodun Stephen premiers at the ICFF film festival in Toronto July 12. Starring Olarotimi Fakunle, Etim Effiong, Mike Afolarin, Uche Montana, and Audrey Harrison the movie follows a struggling musician who seeks to reconnect with his family twenty years after abandoning them in a quest for stardom.

Lobola Man drops on Netflix July 18th. The South African romantic comedy stars Lawrence Maleka in his first leading role, as the “silver-tongued chief lobola (bride price) negotiator.” The film also stars Sthandile Nkosi, Obed Baloyi, Themba Ndaba, Kwanele Mthethwa, Letuka Dlamini, Nimrod Nkosi, Sello Ramolahloane and Thembsie Matu.

Call for submissions for the Ecrans Noirs Festival is open through July 31. The 28th edition of Écrans Noirs festival will be held from October 19-26, 2024 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and in various cities throughout the country.

July 11th is African Anti-Corruption Day. Checkout Softie a 2020 Kenyan film based on the life of political activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi and his family; King of Boys: The Return of the King (2021), a seven-part limited Netflix crime drama series that explore Nigerian corruption and power dynamics; and the South African 2019 political documentary How to Steal a Country about state capture in South Africa during President Jacob Zuma’s presidency. The film is being used in  German high schools to teach students about corruption.

As I Open My Eyes (French: À peine j'ouvre les yeux) is a 2015 French-Tunisian drama film directed by Leyla Bouzid. The story revolves around Farah (Baya Medhaffer), a rebellious teenager who defies her mother's (Ghalia Benali) concerns by sneaking out to sing with an underground band. Set in the lead-up to Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution in the summer of 2010, the film captures Farah's as well as the country’s struggle for independence and self-expression.   The film won multiple awards including at the Venice International Film Festival and was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards. The film received positive reviews upon its release. It holds a 100% fresh ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.5 average rating. Variety called it an "impressive debut" and Medhaffer's acting "a stand-out lead performance". A critic for Indiewire gave the film a score of A− and called it "the Best Fictional Film Yet About the Arab Spring."

David Oyelowo co-founded the streaming service Mansa with fellow British Nigerian filmmaker Chiké Okonkwo, Nate Parker, and Zak Tanjeloff in 2023. Mansa is a free, ad-supported streaming platform with a focus on Black culture for a global audience. “It’s a place where those shows that are traditionally undervalued elsewhere can be valued on a platform by an audience that is engaging with it because they see value in those projects.”

Kin-Kiesse (1982), the short film from the Democratic Republic of Congo about the capital Kinshasa by Mwezé Ngangura, features the famed Congolese painter Cheri Samba and musician Papa Wembe. Winner of best documentary at FESPACO, the film inspired Ngangura’s first feature film, the musical comedy La Vie est Belle (1987), a big hit in African cinemas. Kin-Kiesse can be watched on YouTube.

A Screaming Man (2010) by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun received the Cannes Film Festival's Jury Prize, the first Chadian film to be in the main competition, and the first to win a Cannes festival award. Set in 2006 during the civil war in Chad, the film tells the story of a father who sends his son to war in a desperate attempt to regain his job.

Drum (2004) by Swazi director Zola Maseko was the first South African film to receive the top prize at FESPACO in 2005. Set in 1950s Johannesburg, it recounts the real life story of pioneering investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo.

Behind Closed Doors (2014), a Moroccan drama film directed by Mohamed Bensouda premiered at the 2013 Marrakesh International Film Festival where two additional screenings were added due to popular demand. The critically acclaimed film whose plot centers around the culturally taboo issue of sexual harassment went on to become Morocco's top-selling movie in 2014.

Richard Mofe-Damijo (b. 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a veteran Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist.  His filmography includes The Mayors (2004) for which he won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role; The Wedding Party (2016), and The Black Book (2023), the first-ever Nigerian film to soar to No. 3 on Netflix’s worldwide film charts.

Manouchka Kelly Labouba is a Gabonese director, screenwriter, and producer of short films including the critically acclaimed Marty et la tendre dame, Le guichet automatique, and Le divorce. With the release of Le divorce in 2008 she became the youngest director in the history of Gabon, and the first Gabonese woman to direct a fiction film in the country. She is also an academic, cinematographer, editor, and camera operator.  Le divorce can be watched on Cine du Gabon's YouTube Channel.

Thabo Rametsi (b 17 July 1988) is a South African actor and producer. He is best known for his roles in The Giver, The Gamechangers, and Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu, a film based on the life of South African liberation fighter Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu.  In Silverton Siege, a 2022 Netflix film, he plays Calvin Khumalo, another real-life anti-apartheid freedom fighter, part of Umkhonto WeSizwe. In June of 2024, Rametsi announced the development of “Imbokodo”, the first of a four-part comic book series in collaboration with Dark Horse Comics.

Hussein Shariffe (7 July 1934 – 21 January 2005) was a Sudanese filmmaker, painter, poet and university lecturer. Once returned to Sudan in the 1970s after years abroad, he worked both at the Ministry of Culture and at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Khartoum. In 1973 he began a second artistic career as filmmaker, producing several documentaries such as The Dislocation of Amber, a film about the historical port of Suakin on the Red Sea coast and Diary in Exile, an account of Sudanese living in exile in Egypt.

“With an actor carrying our frustrations, fears, desires and hopes, we can let go of the fight—at least for a little while. The role of an actor in society should not be underestimated… Although it’s easy to get caught up in celebrity and fame, the timeless function of the actor is to take on communal pain and provide emotional and spiritual purification for every person in the audience. I truly believe that an actor is essential to the psychic health of our world.”

Rwandan actress, Eliane Umuhire

Omen, Neptune Frost, Bazigaga, A Quiet Place: Day One

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Rafiki (Swahili for 'friend') is a 2018 Kenyan drama film directed by Wanuri Kahiu. The film had its international premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival; the first Kenyan film to be screened at the festival. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Nairobi, Rafiki tells the story of a romance between two young women, Kena and Ziki, while exploring themes of friendship, love, and the struggles faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Kenya. The soundtrack features songs by all-female African musicians—in addition to Blinky Bill—and with all but one track being Kenyan. Kahiu selected the songs featuring a mix of contemporary Kenyan pop, Afrobeat, and traditional sounds from performers that include Muthoni Drummer Queen, Mayonde, Jaaz Odongo, Trina Mungai, Njoki Karu, Chemutai Sage, and Zambian musician Mumbi Kasumba. According to Njoki Karu, Kahiu selected three of her songs after hearing her sing "Nita" at a concert. Kahiu asked Karu if she had more similar songs, and selected two additional songs which are featured on the soundtrack, "Secret Love" and "Stay.

Trackers (2019), is a South-African co-produced crime thriller television series. It's an adaptation of South African writer Deon Meyer's best-selling 2011 novel, his seventh and the second to be adapted to the small screen.  It is the first co-production between South African pay-TV channel M-Net, German public broadcaster ZDF, and the US's Cinemax. The six-part series finds its three main characters embroiled in a violent conspiracy involving organized crime, smuggled diamonds and rhinos, the CIA, and an international terrorist plot. It was MNet's most-watched show of 2019.

Deon Meyer worked closely with the show's writing team in the adaption.

"As an author, I think you are always too close to the book and too subjective to take the adaptation decisions on your own. We spent perhaps more time discussing and brainstorming the script than on any other aspect of the TV show and I was very involved with that. I think we all had a similar vision. Let’s use the book as an inspiration but not as the gospel."