12 Best Latin American Movies To Watch Right Now!
Latin American cinema is quite unique in world cinema for its emotional depth and social honesty, very much like Iranian movies. Similarly, unlike big-budget Hollywood
I have frequently talked on CulturalReads, Hollywood gets the limelight, even though many actors and directors are surprisingly from other countries. The Revenant, for example, is an Academy-award winning Hollywood movie. However, its director is Alejandro G. Iñárritu, one of the famous people in Mexico.
I can quote countless other examples. And I think the reason Hollywood gets the limelight is because it’s an established industry with many opportunities for stardom.
The same, to some degree, also applies to Europe.
But what about Africa? After all, it is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia.
Surely, African cinema will also be grand and ambitious, like its vast lands. So, if we are not paying attention doesn’t mean no one is making African movies.
There are many movies from Africa that we haven’t even heard of. This post is an attempt to collect all the best African movies from the continent. The idea is to show movies that are original, raw, and inspiring from the native directors and actors.
Mati Diop is a French-Senegalese director with a transnational work. She lives in France but frequently travels to Senegal. So, most of her movie stories happen in Senegal. Her movie, Atlantics, won the Grand Prix at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Dahomey is another movie that won the Golden Bear.
Ada is a young woman in Dakar who is preparing to marry Omar, a wealthy man she doesn’t love. But she loves Souleiman, who is a construction worker, but hasn’t been paid for months, along with other laborers. Sadly, the men set off by sea for Spain but disappeared at sea.
As Ada prepares for her wedding, strange events begin: Omar’s bed catches fire. Ada falls under suspicion and faces humiliating interrogations.
Soon, it becomes clear that the men lost at sea have returned as spirits, possessing locals at night to demand justice.
While most seek their unpaid wages, Souleiman wants only to reunite with Ada. What happens next? Well, you should watch this one of the best African movies on Netflix.
Since the search for a better future and migration is the theme of this movie, you can also check out more books about migration.
Rafiki is one of the best African films from Kenya by the director Wanuri Kahiu. Wanuri took the plot from the short story Jambula Tree by Monica Arac de Nyeko. It was the first Kenyan movie to get a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kena lives in Nairobi, helping her father campaign for local elections. She is in a romantic relationship with Ziki, the daughter of her father’s political rival. As the couple dates more secretly, they struggle with the reality that their love is illegal in Kenya.
When Ziki’s jealous friends attack Kena, the situation changes for the worse. Ziki’s mother catches them kissing, and a town gossip incites a violent mob. They are arrested and forced apart. Ziki is sent to London while Kena stays behind.
Years later, Kena returns as a doctor. But after everything, can love survive time and exile? Interestingly, the movie was banned and unbanned in Kenya.
Later, it was also the country’s official entry to the Oscars. Meanwhile, you should also check the best Kenyan writers for more great stories from Kenya. You can stream the movie on Amazon Prime.
Supa Modo is a 2018 Kenyan drama film by the director Likarion Wainaina. The film was/is part of the One Fine Day Films initiative, which supports African filmmakers. So, this Africa movie is a Kenyan-German co-production.
Jo is a terminally ill 9-year-old girl with a deep love for superhero movies. Although she has to stay home due to her illness, she dreams of becoming a real superhero. And, she finds a best friend in her older sister, who encourages her fantasy against their mother’s wishes.
She starts staging scenes in the village to make Jo believe her powers are real. Soon, the entire village joins in on the act of staging crimes and cheering Jo.
What begins as a small lie turns into an act of love and solidarity. Jo gains confidence and joy, but as her condition worsens. Will this imaginative escape be enough to help Jo, and her family face the inevitable?
The movie had a world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, Germany. You can stream one of the top African movies on Netflix.
Timbuktu is one of the famous African movies by the Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako. He mostly makes movies on globalisation, exile, and the migration of people. His movie, Timbuktu, was the main contender for the Palme d’Or. The film is inspired by real events.
Kidane is a quiet cattle herder living outside the city with his family. He is trying to stay out of the chaos as Islamist militants impose harsh laws banning music, football, etc. But when a dispute over a cow turns fatal, he is arrested and brought before a Sharia court.
As he awaits judgment, the militants continue terrorizing the townspeople, like flogging women for singing, and forcing silence on the youth. Kidane’s quiet dignity in court becomes a powerful contrast to the regime’s cruelty. His trial becomes a battle between fear and humanity.
The film went on to win seven César Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. You can stream the movie on Amazon. You can also stream the movie on YouTube.
Softie is a 2020 Kenyan documentary film by Sam Soko. This documentary is the story of Boniface Mwangi. Boniface was a celebrated photojournalist who became an activist for his fearless campaigns against corruption and political injustice in Kenya.
The documentary follows Boniface as his personality changes from capturing Kenya’s social and political unrest through his camera lens to becoming an activist and politician. His fight for justice brings him head-to-head against politicians.
This also brings threats against his life and pressure on his family, as he continues to challenge corruption. The film explores the toll on his marriage, relationship with his children, and mental health.
Softie was the winner of the Best Documentary Award at the 2020 Durban International Film Festival. I recently wrote about another Kenyan form of resistance– the Genge music genre. You can explore more about it in Kenyan music. Stream the Softie for free on YouTube.
Papicha is a 2019 Algerian film by Mounia Meddour, which is her feature debut. The film happens against the backdrop of 1990s Algeria during a turbulent civil war. It is about the struggles of young Algerian women fighting for freedom and self-expression amid rising Islamist extremism.
Nedjma is doing fashion designing at Kouba University in Algiers. As the situation in the country deteriorates, armed groups begin enforcing conservative dress codes. In defiance, Nedjma secretly plans a fashion show on campus as a protest.
As she pushes forward with her plan, tension rises among her friends and family, who fear the consequences. The risk becomes personal and political. In a country where fear threatens to silence individuality, will it spark a movement or destroy everything she’s fighting for?
The film was the Best First Feature Film at the César Awards. Recently, I also wrote about another movie about Algeria, The Battle of Algiers, in the best historical movies. You can stream this movie on Prime Video.
Teza is a 2008 Ethiopian drama film by Haile Gerima. Haile is a famous Ethiopian filmmaker who makes political cinema. Bush Mama, Sankofa, and Adwa are some of his best films, among others. This Africa film is about the ideological journey of Anberber in rural Ethiopia and Germany.
Anberber is a highly educated Ethiopian scientist who returned to Ethiopia with a PhD in the 1990s. After his arrival, he faces scrutiny and suspicion from the ruling communist regime. Through flashbacks, memories of lost ideals haunt him.
It’s because his belief in socialism collapsed due to political violence, betrayal, and racism after a brutal attack by a German mob that left him permanently injured. Now, he’s exiled at home and in Germany.
Eventually, he has to make peace with himself. He starts to re-engage with his community by treating the wounded, defending the vulnerable, and ultimately becoming the village schoolteacher. In guiding a new generation, he finds a quiet redemption.
You can stream one of the best African movies on Prime Video. Ethiopia, as a country, has a lot to offer. Here are some Ethiopian gifts to give you an idea. Meanwhile, you can also check some old Ethiopian music.
Four Daughters is one of the great African movies from Africa by Kaouther Ben Hania. The film is a personal story that takes inspiration from real-life events. It was produced in collaboration with Tunisia, France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia.
Olfa Hamrouni is a Tunisian mother whose two eldest daughters disappear after joining ISIS in Libya. Olfa is left to pick up the pieces with her remaining daughters. As they confront their painful past, memories resurface of a home full of strict control and generational violence.
Actors are brought in to help Olfa and her daughters re-enact key moments, blurring lines between memory and cinema. This method helps the family to grieve while also revealing how societal pressures, abuse, and emotional isolation pave the way for radicalization.
Eyimofe is a Nigerian film by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri. This Africa film is a portrait of everyday struggles in modern Nigeria. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Split into two chapters, Eyimofe follows the separate journeys of Mofe, a printing shop technician, and Rosa, a hairdresser. Both of them are trying to move abroad for a better life. Mofe dreams of moving to Spain, but after the sudden death of his family, his plans collapse.
Rosa, hoping to escape to Italy, now has to care for her younger, pregnant sister. As financial pressures mount and promises of escape fall through, she makes the difficult choice to marry her landlord out of necessity.
Their stories raise the question: when the system fails you at every turn, how much do you have to sacrifice to survive? Many Nigerian books also raise the same questions. Or else, if you want to see the promising prospects, check out the Afrobeat artists.
I Am Not a Witch is a Zambian-British film by Rungano Nyoni. The film is a satire and tragedy that explores the treatment of women accused of witchcraft. It won the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut.
Shula is a quiet girl, whom people accuse of witchcraft in rural Zambia. She is sent to a witch camp, where elderly women are bound by white ribbons. Mr. Banda is a Government official who exploits her “powers” for public trials, while his wife parades her on talk shows.
After briefly attending a special school, the authorities ask her to perform a rainmaking dance. But feeling exhausted, she tells the other women she wishes she had become a goat.
The next morning, a girl’s body is found and mourned, implied to be Shula. As rain finally begins to fall, the women’s ribbons flutter freely in the wind, and in the distance, a goat bleats. It all suggests that her spirit has finally flown.
Yomeddine is one of the best African films by the director, Abu Bakr Shawky. The film’s title means “Judgement Day”. It was shot in Arabic and features non-professional actors. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was a contender for the Palme d’Or.
Beshay is a Coptic Christian who was cured of leprosy but still bears its scars, physically and emotionally. After the death of his wife, he decides to leave the leper colony. He travels across Egypt to find his family. With him travels Obama, a young orphan from the colony, who insists on joining.
As they cross the country on a donkey cart, the unlikely pair face prejudice, poverty, and moments of unexpected kindness. The film raises the question: Can a man who has been cast aside by society ever reclaim his place in it?
Tsotsi is one of the best African films from South Africa. It won the 2006 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, making it the first South African film.
Tsotsi is a young, violent gang leader who lives by crime and survival. One night, during a carjacking, he shoots a woman and steals her car, only to discover a baby in the backseat. Now, he has no option but to take the infant with him.
As Tsotsi hides the baby and cares for it in his shack, his nature begins to crack. He forces a young woman to nurse the child and slowly begins confronting his traumatic past. Now, the question is: Can a hardened criminal change?
South Africa is a great country when it comes to using art as a way to cope with trauma and the past. Many South African books and South African music will give you that inspiration.
Lumumba is a historical drama directed by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck. The film was produced in Belgium, France, Germany, and Haiti, but tells the story of the Congo DRC’s independence struggle. It is about Patrice Lumumba, the country’s first Prime Minister.
The film follows Patrice Lumumba’s rise from a beer salesman to Congo’s first Prime Minister during the country’s 1960 independence. His strong anti-colonial stance, alliance with President Kasa-Vubu, and refusal to appease Belgium make him a national hero.
As the country descends into crisis, Mobutu betrays Lumumba with Western backing. The authorities arrest him and send him to Katanga, where he’s tortured and executed. His eventual death marks the fall of Congo’s hopes for unity and independence.
If you want to know more about the colonial past and present history, you can also read more books about Congo DRC.
The Man Who Sold His Skin is one of the best African films from Tunisia. It was co-produced with France and Belgium. It became the first Tunisian film to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Sam Ali is a young Syrian refugee who wants to join his fiancée in Europe but is stuck in Lebanon without proper documents. A famous artist offers him a deal: Sam will allow his back to be tattooed and exhibited as art in exchange for a Schengen visa.
Eventually, Sam becomes a high-priced human artwork. He gets the freedom of mobility he desires but loses autonomy and dignity. Now, he’s trapped in a system that treats him as a commodity.
The Blue Caftan is one of the best movies from Africa by the director, Maryam Touzani. The film is about love, tradition, and identity within a conservative society, in the medina of Salé, Morocco. It was Morocco’s official submission to the 2023 Academy Awards.
Halim and his wife Mina run a traditional caftan shop. Halim is a master tailor who hides his homosexuality while quietly caring for his ailing wife. When they hire a young apprentice, Youssef, the emotional distance between Halim and Mina begins to shift.
As Mina’s illness worsens, Halim is forced to confront his identity and the deep bonds he shares with both Mina and Youssef. The film focuses on unspoken emotions and the dignity of human connection.
The list of African movies from Africa may seem big, but it isn’t. Since there are many African countries that I haven’t covered yet. Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, and some other African countries are also missing. But I might make another post about them in the future.
For now, I would also like to thank Wilfred Okiche for the suggestions and for double-checking these African movies. Wilfred is a Nigerian movie expert with a deep knowledge of African movies from Africa.
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