A portrait of the mythical band Bembeya Jazz, which contributed hugely to the blossoming of the cultural renaissance of President Sekou Toure’s Guinea. Bembeya Jazz was created in 1961 in the city of Beyla in the rainforest of Guinea, and rapidly became Africa’s greatest orchestra. The president recognised sport and culture as some of the […]
This is the story of Joseph Shabalala, of Ladysmith Black Mumbaza fame. It covers the singer’s life from his early years in rural South Africa to his global success and later life, and recounts the difficulties he had to overcome against the apartheid regime, as well as his huge impact on world music. Filled with […]
The growth of the animation industry for young people is currently blossoming in Africa, giving the rest of the world a much-needed view into the lives of African youth, and an insight into the commonalities of youth everywhere. In this animated adventure, four dynamic17 year old Cameroonians who have grown up together are admitted to […]
Two Kenyan women transform an old, decrepit library in Nairobi which is full of ‘white man’s books’ dating from the colonial period, with the broader aim of de-colonising the libraries of Kenya. They have many obstacles to overcome, but they have the support of people of influence in the city, and are committed to the […]
A documentary about the quest for freedom of five residents of Khartoum: two men, a woman and two boys. Khartoum begins before the latest outbreak of war in Sudan, when life was good and democracy had arrived at last. And then something different happened and the shooting started……It follows them through their survival and flight […]
The big city of Lagos and its inhabitants are the focus of this fast-moving, intense thriller from Nigeria. Government laws and powerful competitors threaten a start-up company by two young, enterprising software engineers, to provide a motorcycle ride-sharing service. Its success becomes known to corrupt police and government ministers, who want to get it banned. […]
“Culture is by essence the alpha and omega of all development….. For a society culture is as vital as the heart to the human body. The director’s goal is to use cinema as a tool for preserving Malian cultural heritage, placing it at the core of community resilience” – director Fatow follows the story of […]
An historian from New York University in Madrid, director Antumi Toasije takes us on a journey through African history, culture and identity. With intellectual rigour and beautiful imagery, he explores the Africanness of ancient Egypt, with its pyramids and famous sphinx, and visits the mausoleums of modern Ghanaian and Ethiopian leaders. He travels to the […]
Ntare Mwine’s chance encounter with photographer Kibaate Aloysius Ssalongo, when his car breaks down in Kibaate’s village, becomes a 22 year journey exploring Kibaate’s life and photography. Simultaneously the relationship between the two hugely impacts Ntare himself, as well as the community whose photographic portraits Kibaate made a generation ago. A complex and intimate picture […]
Wanjuga Kimathi searches for the burial place and remains of her father, a leader in the Mau Mau uprising against British colonial rule in the 1950’s. Her story plays out like a thriller as she begins to investigate colonial atrocities, concentration camps and land theft, and she and her mother spark a larger movement for […]
Congolese Rumba has been presented in the past as a masculine creation and women’s role in this rich vein of Congolese music and dance has until now been hidden or ignored. And yet women’s contribution has been crucially important. This documentary looks at the history of the Rumba through its heroines and the contribution of […]
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is a bold, captivating film that exposes the silence surrounding taboo issues like sexual abuse within families, while exploring Zambia’s powerful mourning rituals. Rungano Nyoni weaves humour into hard truths, making the story both engaging and confronting. What stands out above all is the power of women in Zambian society, […]
