DYK List
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Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o made history as the first Black person to head the Berlin International Film Festival jury on the occasion of its 74th edition in February 2024. Commonly known as the Berlinale, it is among the most prestigious film festivals in the world.
The South African 2019 political documentary How to Steal a Country is being used in German high schools to teach students about corruption. The film revolves around state capture in South Africa and revelations of alleged corruption scandals surrounding former President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family.
Supa Team 4 is Netflix’s first original African animated series, now in its second season. Taking place in a futuristic Lusaka, the Zambian series was created and co-executive-produced by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema and produced by South African animation studio Triggerfish.
The video for the song "Take Me to Your Leader" by American rock band Incubus pays homage to The Gods Must Be Crazy, a 1980 South African comedy film that was the most successful South African film at the time. Set in Southern Africa, the film revolves around a hunter-gatherer of the Kalahari Desert whose tribe believes that a Coca-Cola bottle dropped from a plane is a gift from their gods.
Rafiki, a 2018 Kenyan film directed by Wanuri Kahiu was banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board due to its portrayal of homosexuality, which is illegal in Kenya. Kahiu refused to change the ending of the film as requested by the board, necessitating the ban. This stirred international outrage from LGBT rights supporters. Kahiu sued the government which resulted in a temporary lift of the ban by the Kenyan High Court, allowing the film to be screened for a limited time.
A significant milestone was achieved with the nomination of two African documentaries at the 2024 Academy awards: Les Filles d'Olfa (2023) by Kaouther Ben Hania from Tunisia, and Bobi Wine: The People's President (2022), co-directed by Ugandan filmmaker Moses Bwayo.
The historical drama Algerian film Chronicle of the Years of Fire by director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina won the Palme d'Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and to this day, is the only Arab and African film to win the award, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It depicts the Algerian War of Independence as seen through the eyes of a peasant.
Atlas Studios is a film studio located in Morocco and is regarded as the world’s largest film studio based on its acerage. It was established by Mohamed Belghmi in 1983. The studio benefits from the area’s favourable climate and the diversity of the natural landscapes, allowing for the effective portrayal of various environments. Many of the studio sets from previous film productions serve as tourist attractions with guided tours. Notable productions include Game of Thrones, Aladdin and the British TV series Atlantis.
Fanta Régina Nacro was the first Burkinabè woman to direct a narrative film. Her films are known for challenging societal norms, traditions, and the role of men in Burkinabè society, often using humor to address sensitive issues from AIDS and sexual health to gender roles.
Djibouti-Canadian film director and screenwriter Lula Ali Ismaïl is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film, earning her the nickname of "the first lady of the Djibouti cinema”.
The Moroccan documentary Trances (1981) directed by Ahmed El Maânouni following the Moroccan band Nass El Ghiwane was restored in 2007 by Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project. Trances was the Project’s first restoration.
Three South African actors Thuso Mbedu, John Kani and Kagiso Lediga will be part of the cast of Disney’s upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King film. Legida will play the role of young Rafiki while Kani will play the role of older Rafiki. The film is set to be released in theaters in December 2024
The documentary Downstream to Kinshasa (2020) by Congolese filmmaker Dieudo Hamadi is the first film from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be chosen as an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival. The film follows a group of survivors of the DRC's Six-Day War of 2000 traveling to Kinshasa to demand compensation from the government for the losses they incurred during the conflict.
Mortu Nega (English: Death Denied or Those Whom Death Refused) is a historical film by Guinea-Bissau director Flora Gomes. Released in 1988, it was the first film produced in independent Guinea-Bissau and was the first ethnofiction film to depict the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival
The 2021 drama film, The Gravedigger's Wife was the first Somalian entry for the Best International Feature film at the Academy Awards. Written and directed by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, the story of a gravedigger who struggles to raise money for his wife’s surgery was inspired by a death in his own family.
The short film Bazigaga (2020) by director by Joy Ingabire Moys was the first Rwandan film to be nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) in 2023.
Kenneth Nnebue revolutionized Nollywood by introducing a pioneering concept: distributing its content via VHS (Video Home System), effectively bringing Nollywood into African households. Living in Bondage was the first film released through this system.
We, Students! (2022) (French: Nous, étudiants) was the first ever film from the Central African Republic to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. Written and directed by Rafiki Fariala, the documentary is a personal narrative depicting the lives and struggles of Fariala and his friends at the University of Bangui. It was ranked as one of the top 10 African films of 2022 by The Africa Report.
The 2019 drama film, This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection was the first entry by Lesotho for the Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese it tells the story of an 80-year-old widow who prepares for her own death and to be buried alongside her ancestors. It was nominated in 7 categories at the 2020 Africa Movie Academy Awards, ultimately winning 5 awards including best director and best actress.
The Mother of All Lies (2023) by Asame El Moudir made history as the first Moroccan film to win the top prize at the Marrakech Film Festival. The documentary follows El Moudir’s own journey as she searches for truth amidst a web of family lies, fusing her personal and the national history of Morocco.
The prestigious 'Carrosse d'Or' award, given to Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cisse for his contributions to Malian cinema at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, was reported stolen from his home in Bamako in April 2024. The theft caused an emotional public outcry and call for a national search, underscoring the cultural importance and pride surrounding Cisse’s award.
A television fiction series inspired by the novel Ségou (1984-85) by writer Maryse Condé (1934-2024) is currently in development. The project is led by the directors Cédric Ido and Antoine Chevrollier. The historical novel, spanning two volumes and following the fate of three brothers, traces the downfall of the Bambara kingdom of Ségou.
Migration, or Japa, the Yoruba term for “flee”, has been a recurring theme in recent mainstream Nigerian films and TV series. These include Postcards (2024), a Netflix Nollywood-Bollywood production, Kunle Afolayan’s Ijogbon also on Netflix, Isioma Osaje’s JAPA! (2024) on Prime Video, Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Eyimofe (2021) and Dika Ofoma’s A Japa Tale (2023), a short film which can be viewed on YouTube.
Samba Schutte, a Dutch-Mauritanian actor, comedian and writer who was born in the Sahara Desert and grew up in Ethiopia, starred as the first Ethiopian character on an American sitcom—Hakim on NBC's Sunnyside.
The short animated education video “How Did South African Apartheid Happen, and How Did It Finally End?” won the Jury Award for a Commissioned Film at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Created by Egyptian illustrator Aya Marzouk for TED, the short animated educational video can be watched on the TED-Ed YouTube channel.
Following last year’s inaugural Africa Cinema Summit in Accra, Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to approve a film tax incentive for the Ghanaian film industry. The credit was officially passed a few months later as a 20% tax rebate. The second edition of the Summit will run from October 7-10, 2024 with the theme “The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities.”
Binti, (2021) a Tanzanian drama film directed by Seko Shamte and co-produced with Alinda Ruhinda and Angela Ruhinda was the first Tanzanian film acquired by Netflix. The film, which follows the lives of four contemporary Tanzanian women, won Best Feature at the 2021 Zanzibar International Film Festival.
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.
Sight and Sound’s 2022 decennial Poll of the 250 Greatest Films of All Time ranks Ousmane Sembéne’s Black Girl 95th and Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Touki Bouki (1973) 65th. Sight and Sound is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI)
The 2021 Burkinabé hit Les Trois Lascars by director Boubakar Diallo is being made into a Nigerian adaption by director Ishaya Bako. The film follows three married men who decide to take a secret holiday to visit their mistresses, only to see their alibi go up in flames when the plane they were supposed to be on crashes
Films awarded Best Documentary and Best Short Film at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF)—taking place until July 28th—automatically qualify for the Oscars race, the only Oscar-Qualifying festival in Southern Africa and one of just four on the continent.
122 (2019), an Egyptian psychological horror film directed by Yasir Al Yasiri and written by Salah Al-Goheny, is the first Egyptian movie to be shot in 4DX.
French-Congolese actress Déborah Lukumuena is the first Black woman to win the César Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the youngest to win in the category, for her role in Divines (2016).
Pascal Abikanlou is considered the father of Beninese Cinema. His Sous le Signe du Vaudou (1974) is Benin's first fiction feature film and was restored in 2020 by the Cinémathèque française. The film can be watched for free on HENRI, Cinémathèque's free VOD platform.
The 2012 film Nairobi Half Life was the first-ever Kenyan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Directed by David "Tosh" Gitonga, the drama follows an aspiring young actor who moves from his home village to Nairobi to try to make it big but gets drawn into a life of crime. Its awards include Best Picture at the 2012 Kalasha Awards, Best Actor at the Durban International Film Festival, Breakthrough Audience Award at the AFI Fest, and Best Cinematographer at the 2014 Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Djibouti-Canadian film director and screenwriter Lula Ali Ismaïl is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film, earning her the nickname of "the first lady of the Djibouti cinema”.
Pascal Abikanlou is considered the father of Beninese Cinema. His Sous le Signe du Vaudou (1974) is Benin's first fiction feature film and was restored in 2020 by the Cinémathèque française. The film can be watched for free on HENRI, Cinémathèque's free VOD platform.
The Egyptian thriller Flight 404 starring Mona Zaki broke Egyptian box office records for a female-led film when it was released earlier this year. Ghada (Zaki) is about to board a flight for Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca to atone for past sins, when a sudden emergency requires a large sum of money, which she can only obtain by reconnecting with people from her dark past.
The South African neo-western thriller Five Fingers for Marseilles (2017) was enlisted as one of the eight "reimagined versions" of Western films American singer Beyonce drew inspiration from for her 2024 country music studio album, Cowboy Carter.
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Under the Hanging Tree (2023) is a supernatural noir Namibian film directed and written by filmmaker Perivi Katjavivi and starring Girley Jazama. The movie explores themes of historical trauma, identity, and cultural displacement, set against the backdrop of Namibia's colonial past. The film became Namibia's first-ever official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature on the occasion of the 96th Academy Awards.
Joe Bullet (1973) starring Ken Gampu, Sol Rachilo, and Abigail Kubeka, was the first South African film to feature an all-black African cast. It was screened at the Eyethu Cinema in Soweto in 1973 before being banned by the apartheid government and never screened again. The 2024 documentary Banned directed by Naledi Bogacwi follows the story of the iconic film and the censorship that took place in Apartheid South Africa.
Subterranea (2024) is the first Kenyan sci-fi television series. Directed by Likarion Wainaina of Supa Modo fame, the series is described by the director as “Big Brother meets Survivor meets Silo” and was released on Showmax in September.
The Egyptian action film Sons of Rizk 3 (2024) starring Ahmed Ezz broke an Egyptian box office record on June 18, 2024 for the highest single day revenue, raking in EGP 23,113,000 (approximately $478,000). The film is the third installment of the popular franchise first launched in 2015 with Sons of Rizk and followed by the sequel, Sons of Rizk 2, which also broke a one-day box office record in 2019.
The short film Bazigaga (2020) by director by Joy Ingabire Moys was the first Rwandan film to be nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) award in 2023.
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Hijack '93, a Nollywood Netflix film that drops on October 25, is a fictional retelling of the real-life hijacking of a Nigerian Airways flight in 1993 by a group of Nigerian teenagers. The film’s lineup of Nollywood actors includes Bob Manuel, John Dumelo, Sharon Ooja, Nancy Isime, Jemima Osunde, and Efa Iwara,
Maïmouna Doucouré spent nearly 18 months researching studies on how children are exposed to adult content and sexualised images on social media for Cuties, her award-winning 2020 feature directorial debut. The story centers on a Senegalese-French girl with a traditional Muslim upbringing who is caught between her family’s traditional values and contemporary western culture when she joins a twerking dance group.
The short comedy drama, Made In Mauritius (2009), was the first ever Mauritian film to be selected as part of Official Selection at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Directed by Mauritian director David Constantin, the 7-minute film can be watched for free on Viddsee.
Salah Abu Seif (May 10, 1915 – June 23, 1996) was one of the most famous Egyptian film directors, and is considered to be the godfather of Neorealist cinema in Egyptian cinema. Many of the 41 films he directed are considered Egyptian classics; eight of them rank in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s list of 100 Greatest Egyptian Films, the most of any director.
Barakat (2020), a South African family drama film directed by Amy Jephta is the first Afrikaans-language Muslim feature film produced in South Africa. The story centers around the family drama that ensues when an aging, widowed matriarch, brings together her fractured, dysfunctional family over Eid-al-Fitr in order to introduce her new romantic partner. The film received multiple nominations and awards and was South Africa's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
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Congolese actress Rachael Mwanza spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa before being cast in the film War Witch (2012) after the director and producers saw her in the 2012 documentary Kinshasa Kids. She went on to win several awards for her role as a child soldier, including from the Tribeca Film Festival, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, and the Berlin Film Festival where she was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress.
Lula Ali Isamail, nicknamed the “First Lady of Djibouti Cinema” for directing the country’s first feature film (the 2018 award-winning Dhalinyaro) has been selected to direct the screen adaption of The Youth of God, a novel by Somali-Canadian author Hassan Ghedi Santur. The novel, which follows a 17-year-old Canadian-Somali confronting the challenges of religious radicalization, was longlisted for Canada Reads in 2020 and was a finalist for the 2019 Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award for Excellence in African Writing.
British Nigerian actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim, known for films such Anikulapo, Last flight to Abuja, Half of Yellow Sun, and Black November, is also in demand for voice work. Called the 'Man with a Beautiful Voice', Kae-Kazim has voiced characters for animations that include the South African series Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Ogun) and iThe Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (T'Chaka).
The Blue Caftan (2022) by Maryam Touzani has sold the most overseas tickets of any recent Moroccan film (over 500,000). In 2023 it became the first Moroccan film to be shortlisted for the Oscars. The film centers on an unusual love triangle involving a closeted gay tailer of silk caftans, his wife and their apprentice.
After each day of shooting the 2002 Chadian film Abouna on location in Gaoui and N'Djamena, the director Mahamat Saleh Haroun had to send the film 2,600 miles to Paris for processing. Only after waiting several days for word to came back that there were no problems, would shooting resume. Abouna went on to win several prizes, including Best Cinematography at the 2003 Ouagadougou Panafrican Film and Television Festival, and was Chad's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards.
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No Simple Way Home (2022) by South Sudanese filmmaker Akuol de Mabior in her debut feature, is the first ever South Sudanese film production to screen at the Berlin Film Festival. The documentary is a tribute to the director's father, John Garang de Mabior, considered the founding father of South Sudan, and recounts her and her mother's return to the country after years in exile.
The screening permit of the award-winning Zanka Contact (2020), was suspended by the government-backed Moroccan Cinematographic Centre (CCM), which helped fund the film, due to the inclusion of a song by the Sahrawi singer Mariem Hassan. Hassan supported the Polisario Front, which seeks an independent state in the Western Sahara, considered an integral part of Moroccan territory by the government. Directed by French-Moroccan filmmaker Ismael El Iraki, the film was inspired by his journey as a survivor of the 2015 Paris Bataclan attacks and follows the love story of an aging rock star and a singer.
The Blue Elephant 2, a 2019 Egyptian drama horror mystery crime thriller film directed by Marwan Hamed became the highest-grossing Egyptian film in the history of Egyptian cinema... Starring Karim Abdel Aziz, Khaled El Sawy, Nelly Karim and Sherine Reda in the lead roles, the film is a sequel to the 2014 box office hit The Blue Elephant.
Moroccan film director Nabil Ayouche is a co-founder of Aflamin, the first Moroccan VOD platform dedicated to Moroccan cinema and international independent films. Among its aims is to make Moroccan film more legally accessible to Moroccans while diminishing piracy.
All the characters and sets in the Zambian animationThe Legend of the Sky Kingdom (2003) were constructed from junk found by the filmmakers in a lot next to their offices. It was a stylistic choice necessitated by budget considerations as well as inspired by the wire and metalwork of Africa's folk artists, who often transform discarded items into works of art. It was the country's first full-length animated film.
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Rafiki a 2018 Kenyan film about a romance between two young women was banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board “due to its homosexual theme”. The film's director, Wanuri Kahiu, sued the government, and won, to allow the film to be screened and eligible to be submitted as Kenya's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. 
Tug of War, set in the 1950s during the final years of British colonial Zanzibar is Tanzania’s 2022 Oscar entry for Best International Feature Film. It is its 2nd ever entry and its first in 21 years. 
Djibouti-Canadian film director and screenwriter Lula Ali Ismaïl is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film, the 2011 short Laan (Friends), earning her the nickname of "the first lady of the Djibouti cinema”. Her 2018 drama, Dhalinyaro (Youth), was also the first feature film in Djibouti cinema history.
Zimbabwean make-up artist Trefor Proud became the first African to win the Oscar in 2020 for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for the movie Topsy-Turvey.
Upon winning Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave in 2013, Lupita Nyong'o became only the second African actress to win the award, the first Kenyan actress to win an Oscar, and the first Mexican to win the award. She is also the fifteenth actress to win an Oscar for a film debut performance.
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A year after selling out in cinemas, the 2019 Mozambican crime film Redemption, directed by Mickey Fonseca, became the first Mozambique-made film to be featured on Netflix and the first film from a Portuguese-speaking African country in its catalogue.
During filming of the 2006 Chadian war film Dry Season in N'Djamena, the crew was attacked by rebel forces, causing production to temporarily shut down and almost be abandoned. Mahamat Saleh Haroun's film went on to win the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, as well as eight other prizes at Venice and the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.
After winning top prizes at festivals including FESPACO and Locarno International Film Festival for his films Guimba the Tyrant and Genesis, Malian film director Cheick Oumar Sissoko became Mali's Minister of Culture in 2004.
Rafiki a 2018 Kenyan film about a romance between two women was banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board due to its homosexual theme. The film's director, Wanuri Kahiu, sued the government, and won, to allow the film to be screened and become eligible to be submitted as Kenya's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 2015, Timbuktu directed by Abderrahmane Sissako became the first film by a Mauritanian director to win the César Award, considered the highest film honor in France. It won seven awards out of its eight nominations setting the record for being the African film with the most awards ever at the ceremony. It is also the first Mauritanian film to be nominated for an Oscar.
Djibouti-Canadian film director and screenwriter Lula Ali Ismaïl is the first woman from Djibouti to produce a film, earning her the nickname "the first lady of theDjibouti cinema”.
The 2011 fantasy adventure drama Mirror Boy, written and directed by Obi Emelonye starring Genevieve Nnaji and Osita Iheme, was the first Nigerian film to secure a cinematic release in the United Kingdom with Odeon Cinemas, considered a landmark achievement for a Nollywood film.
The 1981 romantic drama, Love Brewed in the African Pot by Kwaw Ansah was the first independent Ghanaian film. It received popular and critical acclaim throughout English-speaking Africa and became the first Ghanian film to be adapted into a comic book.
Everyone’s Child (1996) directed by author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga was the first feature film directed by a black Zimbabwean woman. Originally conceived as a training video for community-based orphan care programs in response to the explosive growth of AIDS orphans on the continent, it was determined that a feature film would have more of an impact in building awareness on the issue.