Africa has produced some of the most captivating and remarkable movies of all time. From heart-wrenching dramas to hilarious comedies, the continent’s rich and diverse cultures have inspired filmmakers to create masterpieces that have stood the test of time.
Since the definition of a perfect movie can be subjective, Africanews turned to your “favourite” chatbot, GPT for the list of top 10 African movies. These are the films that have stood the test of time and have left a lasting impact on the industry.
So, blame AI if your favorite movie does not make the list which is in no particular order:
“Black Panther” (2018) – the first blockbuster starring a black superhero, became a cultural phenomenon and earned more than 1.3 billion dollars in revenue, collecting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture along the way.
The film stars Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s sister Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, and Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke.
“The Gods Must Be Crazy” (1980) – written and directed by Jamie Uys, Set in Botswana and South Africa, it tells the story of a Kalahari bushman who finds a Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane and is convinced it’s a gift from the gods.
The bottle brings discord to the tribe, and Xi is sent out into the unknown world beyond the Kalahari to return the bottle to the Gods by throwing the bottle off the world’s end.
“Lionheart” (2018) – The story revolves around an ambitious woman, Adaeze, played by Genevieve, who works as a director in her family’s transport company, understudying her father, Chief Obiagu (Pete Edochie) — a wealthy Igbo businessman. At the same time, she nurses personal aspirations towards taking over from him as the company’s overall head and being the one to move the family legacy into a new generation.
“Tsotsi” (2005) – This South African movie won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and tells the story of a young gangster in Johannesburg who has a crisis of conscience after he steals a car and discovers a baby in the backseat.
“Timbuktu” (2014) – This Mauritanian-French drama was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and tells the story of the occupation of Timbuktu by jihadist militants and its impact on the local people.
In town, the inhabitants submit, powerless, to the regime of terror of the jihadists who have taken their faith hostage. No more music and laughter, cigarettes and even football… Women have become shadows trying to resist with dignity. Improvised tribunals deliver absurd and tragic sentences every day.
“Half of a Yellow Sun” (2013) – This Anglo- Nigerian drama film is based on the novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and tells the story of two sisters in Nigeria during the Biafran War of the late 1960s.the drama film is directed by Biyi Bandele and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandiwe Newton, Onyeka Onwenu, Anika Noni Rose, Joseph Mawle, Genevieve Nnaji, OC Ukeje and John Boyega[7] and was filmed on location in Nigeria. The film premiered in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[8] It received mixed reception from critics.
“Moolaadé” (2004) – This Senegalese movie won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival and tells the story of a woman who refuses to let her daughter undergo female genital mutilation.
“Viva Riva!” (2010) – This Congolese movie is a crime thriller set in Kinshasa, and tells the story of a small-time criminal who steals a truckload of fuel and gets caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.
“The Wound” (2017) – This South African movie was controversial for its depiction of the Xhosa tradition of male circumcision and tells the story of a young man who undergoes the ritual and the complications that arise.
“Sankofa” (1993) – This Ghanaian-American movie is a historical drama that tells the story of a modern-day African-American woman who is transported back in time to a plantation in the antebellum South.
Mona is a model, she is also African-American. She is sent to Ghana, to Cape Coast, for a series of photos. But, on location, while visiting the ruins of the port from which the ships carrying the slaves to the Americas left, she is taken by fainting spells and feels an inexplicable presence surrounding her.
