Spotlight on African Cinema

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicked off on Sun, Dec 21 and is a reminder of a time when I did film spotlights for the different soccer tournaments (World Cup, Euros, Copa America, AFCON). It has been almost a decade since the last such soccer film spotlight. It was tough to do such soccer film spotlights a few decades ago due to limited legal access to many international films. Over the last two decades, streaming access to international films has gotten better although it is still difficult to view films from some nations due to variety of reasons (limited film industry/film distribution). There is where co-productions have helped and allowed selection of a film from a country with limited film resources.

As a means of nostalgia, here is a proposed AFCON 2025 Film Spotlight including a Top 11 list. The only country from which I couldn’t get a proper feature was Comoros. The island nation doesn’t have a thriving film industry but recently, there have been a few Comoros short films shown at international film festivals. I couldn’t get hold of these short films and instead opted to select a documentary about Comoros.

The 24 films are listed as per the groups in AFCON 2025.

Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros

Morocco: Le Grand Voyage (2004, Ismaël Ferroukhi)

The host nation’s film selection features an emotional and life changing journey.

In Le Grand Voyage, a father wants to undertake a holy pilgrimage to Mecca so he asks his son to drive all the way from France to Saudi Arabia. The son is initially not happy with his father’s decision but gradually gains a better understanding of his father as the journey progresses. The film manages to stand out from a traditional road feature by incorporating some engaging elements, such as the mysterious Eastern European woman the duo pick up. The woman’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance fits in perfectly as does the predictable actions of the Turkish man who the son befriends. The journey ends up becoming a metaphor for life and each experience helps broaden the son’s mind. The end point of the journey at Mecca features the film’s strongest and most emotional moment.

Mali: Yeelen (1987, Souleymane Cissé)

Souleymane Cissé's Yeelen beautifully depicts an ancient Malian myth about a battle between father and son (Nianankoro). Set in the 13th century Mali Empire, Nianankoro must tackle an entire cult group along with his wizard father while trying to restore his family name. The folk story is peppered with elements of magic and witchcraft in depicting the family battle. Because Nianankoro holds the power of magic, he is equally feared and respected.

Zambia: I Am Not a Witch (2017, Rungano Nyoni)

Rungano Nyoni’s creative debut feature is a sharp satire about societal expectations and beliefs. The focus is Africa and witchcraft but the core of the story is applicable to all corners of the world where women are marginalized by one label or another.

Note: I Am Not a Witch was UK’s submission to the Academy Awards Foreign Language category but this film is selected due to its Zambia co-production.

Comoros: The Grand Marriage (2013, Faisal Al Otaibi)

This Al Jazeera documentary depicts the tradition of Grand Marriage in Comoros society. The Grand Marriage is a separate event from the actual marriage, which is a tiny affair limited to family-friends. However, the Grand Marriage is a traditional concept undertaken to emphasize one’s standing in society.

Group B: South Africa, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Angola

South Africa: Son of Man (2006, Mark Dornford-May)

Son of Man is a contemporary interpretation of Jesus living in the slums and streets of Africa during a time when gangs, religion, politics and corruption reign. Religion, politics and corruption have caused rife for over a thousand years so in that regard, aspects of the Biblical times are still relevant. The few contemporary changes as per the film show how tv and radio can transmit news of miracles and tragedies faster than ancient times. In the last two decades, smart phones and social media have increased speed of that news transmission. The film also shows how guns are readily available to those who need to kill people easily, an aspect that still plagues our world today.

Egypt: Al-mummia (The Mummy/The Night of Counting the Years, 1969, Chadi Abdel Salam)

A film that is often cited as a vital Egyptian and Arab film. Based on real life events of tomb looting, the film raises relevant questions about who should benefit from ancient Egyptian treasures: the locals or a central government. Questions raised in this 1969 film still linger in our contemporary times when tomb looting has increased in frequency.

Zimbabwe: Neria (1991, Godwin Mawuru)

This classic Zimbabwean film is based on a short-story by award winning novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga. The story depicts the struggles of Neria, who is widowed after the death of her husband and is left to fend for herself and her children after her in-laws cut her out of her husband’s money.

Angola: Air Conditioner (2020, Fradique)

This refreshing new addition to Angolan cinema has a beautiful soundtrack and lovely visuals which heighten the contemplative nature of the film. The intriguing story has a simple entry point: air conditioners in the capital city of Luanda have started to mysteriously fall from the buildings. A security guard has to go about the city and find one such fallen air conditioner for his boss who cannot withstand the city’s scorching heat. The security guard’s journey raises relevant socio-economic questions about residents of the city and who can afford an air conditioner.

Air Conditioner debuted at the 2020 Rotterdam Film Festival and got lost after the world shut down in March 2020. The film did surface and showed at other festivals once things opened up, but I imagine its trajectory would have been different if 2020 was a regular film circuit year.

Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania

Nigeria: Without Shame (2005, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen)

Without Shame, a Nollywood soap opera packaged in two parts, is true to its title in depicting a father-son duo who exhibit no morals or shame.

Steve rebels against his father's (Ben) second wife Jenny and refuses to accept her as a mother. Steve's flirting activities bring him in conflict with Jenny leading her to leave the house. After Jenny’s departure, her sister Nina comes for a visit but she tries to leave when she learns that Jenny is no longer at the house. However, Ben calmly and causally asks Nina to stay because he does not have anyone to cook and clean the house. Things get worse for Nina as both father and son rape her every night. When Jenny returns, Nina is too ashamed to admit anything and continues living in the household. The film ends with both father and son escaping from getting caught with their pants down. Without Shame 2 extends the plot from the first film by showing a second affair for Ben leading to three pregnancies before everything is resolved albeit in deadly fashion.

Tunisia: Beauty and the Dogs (2017, Kaouther Ben Hania)

Based on a true story, this powerful film details the lack of justice that exists in a corrupt society where men are allowed to abuse their power and get away with anything. In the film, Mariam (Mariam Al Ferjani) is a young girl who is raped by police causing her to undergo a nightmarish Kafkaesque sequence of events. Miriam tries to report the rape but she is unsure who to trust and is hounded by the police members who committed the crime. She can’t even turn to her family for help as they would judge her more harshly than the police hounding her. At times, the film is tough to view given the never-ending psychological torture that Miriam is forced to undergo. However, that harshness is precisely the point because no matter how hard it is to view these scenarios, it is nowhere near as the painful struggle that women like Miriam have to undergo.

Uganda: The Boda Boda Thieves (2016, Donald Mugisha / James Tayler)

The film depicts the struggles of a family to make ends meet when the father is injured and unable to bring in money. His teenage son takes on the responsibility to earn money by driving the father’s body boda (motorcycle). However, the young boy falls in bad company and uses the boda boda as a means to earn quick money such as everyday purse snatching and other local thefts. When the boda boda is stolen, the young son learns of the debt that his family owes and he tries to make things right.

Tanzania: The Empty Grave (2024, Cece Mlay / Agnes Lisa Wagner)

Dahomey, another entry in this AFCON film spotlight, shows the return of African artefacts from its former colonial nation. On the other hand, The Empty Grave is about another kind of return altogether, something not mentioned in North American media. The film is about the return of human remains of Tanzanians whose bodies (and head in one case) were dug up and taken to Germany. Many Tanzanian families continue to ask Germany to return the remains of their loves ones so they can do a proper burial/send-off and seek closure. In many cases, the Tanzanian families have many family members unaccounted for.

This is a highly relevant film about a topic that is applicable not only to Tanzania but many other nations around the world where colonists treated the bodies of the locals as prized possessions to claim and showcase. The film also depicts lost treasures and artefacts tucked away in Berlin but those artefacts are a subset of the story.

Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana

Senegal: Touki Bouki (1973, Djibril Diop Mambéty)

Djibril Diop Mambéty’s landmark film Touki Bouki gives a good slice into an emerging African nation complete with street shots dripping with poverty, heated arguments at the market, youths looking for jobs and trouble, a young couple dreaming of a better future, corruption and payback lurking around the corner with a club in hand and unflinching slaughter shots. The relaxed lingering shots, mixed with carefully spliced scenes give this movie a surreal feel. In addition, plenty of symbolism in the movie with a cow's capture and slaughter being the most commonly used symbol to echo the mental and physical entrapment of the citizens. An incredible film that was ahead of its time.

DR Congo: Viva Riva! (2010, Djo Munga)

Viva Riva! molds elements of oil trafficking, corruption, violence and sex into an enjoyable film. In the fashion of Nollywood films, the villain is sinister and over the top while the hero, Riva, is a charming intelligent man who can have any woman he wants. Of course, Riva falls for the one woman who will lead him in trouble but Nora is too seductive to resist. The camera ensures that Nora's beauty and Kinshasa's buzzing street life are captured nicely.

Benin: Dahomey (2024, Mati Diop)

This highly relevant film focuses on the specific return of 26 artifacts to Benin but opens up what should be a universal debate about the fate of looted property across Latin America, Africa and Asia. This film was also released in 2024, the same year as the Tanzania co-production The Empty Grave, a cosmic double billing.

Botswana: The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980, Jamie Uys)

The Gods Must be Crazy is a humorous allegory for topics of globalization and clash of cultures, something that has become more common place since the 1990s as Western cultural elements starting expanding to all corners of the globe. The events are amusing but I am not a fan of the narration, which is understanding given the film’s 1980 release. However, if the film was made in the last 2-3 decades, or from the 1920-40s, we could have enjoyed the humour without a narrator explaining every aspect.

Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan

Algeria: Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)

Image courtesy: Criterion

An epic film that is ambitious in scope and charts a timeline from WWII to Algerian freedom. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes 1975 and it is easy to see why.

The film starts off by depicting hardships of village life made worse due to a combination of the harsh weather and lack of water (rain coupled with a dam reducing access). This results in locals migrating from the village to the city for a better life by leaving their land, family and roots behind. Once in the city, the villagers are exposed to political ideas as topics of revolution, independence and World War occupy their thoughts. The film depicts that as WWII spreads, Algerians are forced to join France’s fight. The locals are tired of the French, which leads to some cheering for Germany, but they find themselves dragged into alliances and a war they want no part of. The film’s final segments show the emergence of Algeria’s quest for independence post-WWII and how revolutionaries are forced to hide in the mountains to carry out their attacks against the French.

Burkina Faso: Tilaï / The Law (1990, Idrissa Ouedraogo)

The air of inevitability that hovers over Idrissa Ouedraogo’s Tilaï is similar to that in Sissako’s Timbuktu. The reason for the similarity is due to human’s need to maintain their honour and traditions. The film’s alternate title ‘A Question of Honour’ emphasizes that as well. The need to maintain this honour comes at all costs and including killing of family as shown in the film or the taking of one’s life.

Equatorial Guinea: Where the Road Runs Out (2014, Rudolf Buitendach)

As per the film’s title, the story is set in a house where no paved roads lead to. After the sudden death of his friend, George (Isaach De Bankolé) returns home to Equatorial Guinea to continue the work of his friend. Goerge hires a taxi to take him to his friend’s house but the driver drops George in the middle of a town square and says the address is at a location where no cars can go. George makes his way to the house where he gets to work and rekindles old memories of his youth. As always, Isaach De Bankolé is a delight and he lights up the screen with his performance.

Sudan: You Will Die at Twenty (2019, Amjad Abu Alala)

An air of inevitability hangs over this lovely contemporary feature which is a blend of myth and tradition.

Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique

Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M’Bala)

Adanggaman blends fact and fiction in its depiction of slavery from an African perspective in the 1600s. The film starts off with Ossei's clash with his parents over his refusal to marry as per tradition and their wishes. But after an attack on his village, Ossei finds himself on the run and is eventually captured to be sold as a slave.

Cameroon: A Trip to the Country (2000, Jean-Marie Téno)

Jean-Marie Téno travels from the capital Yaoundé to the Cameroonian country side to highlight some concerns relevant to the local economy such as the decline in agriculture and lack of infrastructure and also examines attitudes related to the desire for westernization and emulation of the west.

The film's ending gives a perfect example about the infrastructural and organizational problems in African soccer and brings to mind an incident when in the mid 1990's the Cameroonian soccer team almost walked out of the tournament due to a dispute about payment/bonuses. Similarly, in the ending of A Trip to the Country a local soccer championship game is almost disrupted due to money issues. As narrated in the film, all local teams had to pay increased registration fees to enter the tournament whose winner would get a trophy and prize money. However, moments before the final's kick-off, the finalists are informed there's going to be no trophy nor any prize money handed out. The players are not happy but are told by the officials to play. When the game eventually starts, the players have to play on a terrible pitch with the ball occasionally getting lost in the tall grass.

If organizational and infrastructure problems can plague the national team, then it is not surprizing to see these problems taking place at the root level of the game. Although such problems are not confined just to Cameroon but inflict many other African nations as well, thereby making it hard for an African team to mount a serious World cup challenge.

Gabon: Dôlè (2000, Imunga Ivanga)

The film’s title refers to a lottery game which promises to make someone an instant millionaire. That allure of overnight riches is promising to locals struggling to make ends meet, especially some of the unemployed young boys who make a living by stealing parts from cars or whatever else they can nab. The film starts off with their attempts to rob car wheels before giving us a glimpse of their lives. The lottery game Dôlè enters the story in the film’s final third and offers another chance for the boys to steal but things don’t go as planned.

Mozambique: Mueda, Memória e Massacre (1979, Ruy Guerra)

Ruy Guerra’s docu-drama hybrid film is a recreation of the June 1960 massacre in Mueda where the Portuguese army executed 600 unarmed inhabitants. The film shows locals re-enacting the day of the massacre but also provides narration of events leading up to the fateful day in Mueda when locals attempted to engage in peaceful dialogue with the Portuguese administration related to independence and self-governance. The Portuguese administration doesn’t take the local’s request fir dialogue well as was common with the old colonial powers back in the day. History is packed with many instances of colonists massacring locals and many of these incidents are lost in time and memory as colonists omit such accounts from their historical recounts.

Top 11 AFCON 2025 Titles:

1. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)

2. Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Algeria, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)

3. Al-mummia (The Mummy, 1969, Egypt, Chadi Abdel Salam)

4. Le Grand Voyage (2004, Morocco co-production, Ismaël Ferroukhi)

5. Beauty and the Dogs (2017, Tunisia co-production, Kaouther Ben Hania)

6. You Will Die at Twenty (2019, Sudan co-production, Amjad Abu Alala)

7. I Am Not a Witch (2017, Zambia co-production, Rungano Nyoni)

8. Dahomey (2024, Benin co-production, Mati Diop)

9. Yeelen (1987, Mali, Souleymane Cissé)

10. Tilaï / The Law (1990, Burkina Faso co-production, Idrissa Ouedraogo)

11. The Empty Grave (2024, Tanzania co-production, Cece Mlay / Agnes Lisa Wagner)