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.