Highest-Rated Movies about 'African Cinema'

Hyenas (1992), A Screaming Man (2010), Xala (1975), Moolaadé (2004), Sisters in Law (2005), Tsotsi (2005), Yaaba (1989), I Am Not a Witch (2017) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best African Cinema movies.

#1. Hyenas (1992)

Storyline: After being kicked out of her African village three decades earlier for getting pregnant out of wedlock, Linguere (Ami Diakhate) has returned home. While Linguere has done well for herself, her home village has fallen on hard economic times. Intent on punishing Dramaan (Mansour Diouf), the man who fathered her child but refused to own up to the act, Linguere makes a proposal: She will help the town financially, if the locals agree to execute Dramaan.

Plot Keywords: crime, drama, black comedy, social critique, greed, revenge, satire ...

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#4. Moolaadé (2004)

Storyline: In an African village this is the day when six 4-9-year-old girls are to be 'cut' (the act of female genital mutilation) All children know that the operation is horrible torture and sometimes lethal, and all adults know that some cut women can only give birth by Caesarean section. Two of the girls have drowned themselves in the well to escape the operation. The four other girls seek "magical protection" (moolaadé) by a woman (Colle) who seven years before refused to have her daughter circumcised. Moolaadé is indicated by a coloured rope. But no one would dare step over and fetch the children. Moolaadé can only be revoked by Colle herself. Her husband's relatives persuade him to whip her in public into revoking. Opposite groups of women shout to her to revoke or to be steadfast, but no woman interferes. When Colle is at the wedge of fainting, the merchant takes action and stops the maltreatment. Therefore he is hunted out of the village and, when out of sight, murdered.—Max Scharnberg, Stockholm, Sweden

Plot Keywords: women's rights, cultural conflict, village life, female solidarity, social change, patriarchy, social justice ...

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#6. Tsotsi (2005)

Storyline: In Johannesburg, a small time criminal, Tsotsi, is a teenager without feelings, hardened by his tough life. After a series of violent gang hits, Tsotsi hijacks a car. However, whilst driving, Tsotsi finds that there is a baby on the back seat. He brings the baby to his house in the slum. The next six days bring about a change in him that couldn't be foreseen.

Plot Keywords: crime, drama, south africa, orphan, redemption, violence, gang ...

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#7. Yaaba (1989)

Storyline: A small village in Burkina Faso. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine who saves her.—Mattias Thuresson

Plot Keywords: drama, family, village life, child's perspective, tradition, social outcasts, coming of age ...

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#8. I Am Not a Witch (2017)

Storyline: Following a banal incident in her local village, 8-year old girl Shula is accused of witchcraft. After a short trial she is found guilty, taken into state custody and exiled to a witch camp. At the camp she takes part in an initiation ceremony where she is shown the rules surrounding her new life as a witch. Like the other residents, Shula is tied to a ribbon which is attached to a coil that perches on a large truck. She is told that should she ever cut the ribbon, she'll be cursed and transformed into a goat.

Plot Keywords: fable, magical realism, female director, social critique, cultural conflict, child protagonist, tradition vs modernity ...

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#9. Tilai (1990)

Storyline: Set in a pre-colonial African past, Tilai is about an illicit love affair and its consequences. Saga returns to his village after an extended absence to discover that his father has taken Nogma, Saga's promised bride, for himself. Still in love with each other, the two begin an affair, although it would be considered incestuous. When the liaison is discovered, Saga's brother, Koudri, pretends to kill Saga for the honor of the family and village. Saga and Nogma flee to another village, but when Nogma's birth mother dies, he returns home. Having brought ruin on the family, Saga is shot by Koudri, who walks off into exile and probable death.—Don Larsson

Plot Keywords: drama, romance, family, rural, africa, tradition, marriage ...

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#10. Soul Boy (2010)

Storyline: Abila (14) lives in one of the most miserable slums in Africa. His girlfriend Shiku belongs to a different tribe, as the result of which he is not really allowed to fraternize with her. And then one drunken night his father gambles away his own soul.—International Film Festival Rotterdam

Plot Keywords: drama, coming of age, teen, social issues, family, friendship, poverty ...

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#11. Rafiki (2018)

Storyline: Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety. Inspried by Monica Arac de Nyeko's "Jambula Tree", which chronicles a story of two girls in love in Uganda, "Rafiki" challenges deep rooted cynicism about same sex relationships among actors, crew, friends, and family in Kenya.—sydsauce

Plot Keywords: romance, lgbt, youth, coming of age, family, social pressure, taboo ...

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#12. Viva Riva! (2010)

Storyline: Riva is an operator, a man with charm and ambition in equal measure. Kinshasa is an inviting place. With petrol in short supply in DRC's capital, he and his sidekick pursue a plot to get hold of a secret cache - barrels of fuel they can sell for a huge profit. Of course they're not the only ones who want the stuff. Cesar is a ruthless, sharply dressed foreigner thriving in Kinshasa's lawless streets. A female military officer joins the fray. Even the church will betray its tenets for a piece of the action. But Riva's main nemesis is Azor, a crime boss in the classic style: big, decadent and brutal. He's not a man to mess with, but his girlfriend, Nora, may just be the most seductive woman in all of DRC. Riva catches sight of her dancing at a nightclub and it's not long before Nora matches the fuel cache as a coveted object of his lust.—Anonymous

Plot Keywords: crime, thriller, gangster, action, smuggling, desire, betrayal ...

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