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)

Top Arab Cinema Films of all time

In compiling a list of the best Arab films of all time, the same problems in making the African films list surfaced: problem of accessibility to many classic Arab films, lack of proper distribution of titles and inadequate quality print available with English subtitles. What makes this problem frustrating is that several Arab countries have had decades of thriving film industries and have produced worthy films. Just as an example, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon had thriving film industries from the 1950-70s but Syria and Lebanon’s film output was clearly impacted from 1970s onwards due to war (both civil and regional). Many older films were never digitized and if they were, then they were not subtitled as they catered to local audience. Although, a recent surprise discovery was seeing that Netflix has a plethora of Arab films ranging from Youssef Chahine’s notable films to those of Elia Sulieman, Annemarie Jacir, Najma Najjar, Ziad Doueiri, Maroun Bagdadi and several other works from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine. Netflix licensed 44 films from Front Row Films Entertainment so that is a good and hopeful sign.

Arab Cinema

There are 22 countries that make up the Arab world, spread from Northern Africa to Middle East and including a few Western and Eastern African countries. However, majority of the candidates for this list came from just 12 nations (order of most films seen): Egypt, Palestine, Algeria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq,  Kuwait, UAE and Yemen.

Top 25 Arab Cinema Films of All Time

1. The Time That Remains (2009, Palestine co-production, Elia Sulieman)

Elia Sulieman’s films often draw references to Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati due to Sulieman playing a character with deadpan expressions in absurd scenarios. However, there is nothing funny or absurd for most of Sulieman’s brilliant film The Time That Remains. That is because the film deals with the tragic expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 (‘nakba’), an event that created fissures and divisions in the Middle East, none of which have ever been healed and have gotten worse in the seven decades since. For the longest time, most of the world believed that Palestinians left peacefully of their own accord in 1948 but that has been proven to be a lie. Sulieman’s film shows that lie but doesn’t dive into details. Instead, a few scenes show the forceful surrender and forced departure of Palestinians. Events cover a few decades and centre around Fuad Sulieman (played brilliantly by Saleh Bakri) and his family/friends/accomplises. The director enters the frame in the film’s final third as the grown up version of Fuad’s son. Some of the director’s trademark humour attempts to enter the frame in the final 20 minutes but that can’t hide the tragedy of what has unfolded since 1948.

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

Also known as Chronicle of the Years of Embers

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.

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

Also known as The Night of Counting the Years

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.

4. Return to Homs (2013, Syria co-production, Talal Derki)

Once the Syrian Revolution started in 2011, Syrian and Western media were not allowed in the country. Derki was a rare person who was able to capture the events which makes the footage in the film essential in understanding what went on while the rest of the world continued to sleep. Derki and his crew continued filming even when bullets were fired in their direction. Such vérité footage results in many gut wrenching moments when people are on the verge of dying on-screen. By keeping the focus on a few key people, Return to Homs shows the human impact a revolution has on people. But one can also extrapolate these personal experiences to a larger scale and understand what motivates people to act the way they do. In essence, the film focuses on a few streets in a city but this microscopic focus helps shed a light on similar struggles going on in other streets not only across Syria but the rest of the Middle East.

5. Cairo Station (1958, Egypt, Youssef Chahine)

A classic work by Egyptian master Youssef Chahine that embodies what is best about Egyptian cinema of that era: charismatic characters, over the top scenarios, a hint of romance, seduction and a mystery.

6. Salt of This Sea (2007, Palestine co-production, Annemarie Jacir)

Many Palestinians left or were forced to leave their homes in 1948 with the hopes of returning one day but their ownership documents are meaningless because legally now their homes belong to someone else. So what happens when all the surviving members of 1948 are gone? Annemarie Jacir attempts to examine such questions by showing an example of a third generation exile who keeps the memories of pre-1948 alive. In the film, Soraya (Suheir Hammad) leaves her home in Brooklyn to visit her grandfather’s land and retrieve his money. However, the bank can no longer hand over the money because in their eyes that old Palestinian branch no longer exists. So Soraya decides to rob the bank along with two accomplices. What follows is a road movie but in this case, the road passes through non-existent towns and streets because the old Palestinian towns are either renamed or in ruins. What remains of the original towns? Only their memories. The film contains some scenarios that are hard to believe but as the film progresses, it becomes clear that Jacir has scripted these scenes to provide a space for a dialogue that is hardly present in the Western world. A dialogue about happened in 1948, what will happen when the original generation of 1948 has perished and what happens when even the memories of that generation are gone.

7. Pomegranates and Myrrh (2008, Palestine co-production, Najma Najjar)

Like Salt of this Sea, the film uses an individual family’s example to raise issues that are hardly talked about. In the film, soldiers arrive at a Palestinian Arab family’s home and annex the land as part of a security pretext. The soldiers provide no proof but show their guns. The elder son Zaid (Ashraf Farah) retaliates and is arrested. The family, including Zaid’s bride Kamar (Yasmine Elmasri), has to make trips to the court to get him released while providing documentation of their land. In the meantime, settlers arrive with their own guns and attempt to occupy that land.

This sounds like wildly scripted fiction but it is not. 2021-2022 events in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem captured by cell phones show that this has been going on for a long time but never talked about and no action is taken.

The film keeps the drama at the human level with Kamar yearning to find her own identity and stay sane while Zaid is behind bars. However, even though the film maintains focus on Kamar and Zaid and their collapsing relationship, it is hard not to draw comparisons with this individual family’s case with that of the larger Palestinian Arab community that went through similar or worse ordeal.

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

Based on a true story, this powerful film shows in harsh detail the lack of justice that exists in a corrupt society where men 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 as harshly as 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 of women like Miriam.

9. The Cruel Sea (1972, Kuwait, Khalid Al Siddiq)

Original title: Bas ya Bahar

The first and only film I have seen from Kuwait so far. The film shows Kuwait before oil brought it plenty of wealth. In the early days before oil, pearl diving was a lucrative way of making a living. However, pearl diving often involved a treacherous 3-4 month journey out in the sea on a boat. The film shows the rituals of the diving season and dangers associated with it. This diving was at a time before scuba gear and other gear that would have these dives easier. In the film, Moussaed (Mohammed Al-Mansour) goes on the trip so that he can make enough money to get married to Nura (Amal Bakr). The genuine highlights of the film are around the close-up scenes of divers on boat at ocean and the impact of heat and exhaustion on the crew.

10. The Little Wars (1982, Lebanon co-production, Maroun Bagdadi)

The film depicts the start of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 by using a trio of characters as lens to view the differing ideologies and beliefs of those involved. Soraya (Soraya Khoury) is a woman caught in the middle as she watches the two men she likes, Nabil (Nabil Ismaïl) and Talal (Roger Hawa), go off in different political directions.

In real life at the time of filming, Nabil Ismaïl was a photographer covering the civil war as shown in Bagdadi’s documentary Whispers which compliments this feature. In Little Wars, Nabil plays a photographer but a fictionalized version who plots a kidnapping. In both Little Wars and Whispers, the bombed buildings form a backdrop to events and depict impact of the civil war on everyday lives of the residents.

 

11. It Must be Heaven (2019, Palestine co-production, Elia Suleiman)

Elia Suleiman reprises his mostly silent character who travels from Palestine to Paris and New York. At the film’s start, he quietly observes the regular routines in his neighbourhood whether it is his neighbour stealing lemons from his tree or neighbours fighting or steely confrontations with gang members at a restaurant. Deciding he wants a change of scenery, he packs his bags for Paris and then New York but he finds that no matter where he goes, he encounters reminders of his homeland. Suleiman’s last feature The Time That Remains contained little humour. So he makes up for it by packing this film with delightful vignettes that feature a mix of deadpan or slapstick comedy and offers a meditative look at questions of identity and human behaviour.

In his previous three features (Chronicle of a Disappearance, Divine Intervention, The Time That Remains) Suleiman's character doesn’t speak a word. But in this film, he finally speaks. When asked where he is from, he first says “Nazareth” and then clarifies “I am Palestinian”. His character has aged in the more than 23 years since his first feature. The decision to speak isn’t the only change because in the film’s final scene, his character has a slight change of expression, something which wasn’t present previously. Is the change in expression a sign of hope that maybe things will get better? Although, that hope is hard to come by given events since the film premiered at Cannes in 2019.

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

A father wants to make the 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 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.

13. The Syrian Bride (2004, Syria co-production, Eran Riklis)

The Syrian Bride looks at impact on people’s lives caused by border crossing troubles at Golan heights. In the film, Clara Khoury plays the bride Mona who is stuck with her family in a no-man’s land while her fiancee waits with his family on the other side. The scenario of a soon to be married couple stranded on either side of the border sounds absurd as do the behaviour of the border guards who engage in political tricks with the stamping of the visa. However, as the film highlights, the situation is no laughing matter on everyday people who want to go about their lives.

14. Rana’s Wedding (2002, Palestine co-production, Hany Abu-Assad)

Clara Khoury also plays the lead role in Rana's Wedding, but this time it is checkpoints that play a troublesome role in her wedding decisions. The camera gives us a glimpse of life in the ancient city of Jerusalem and how even the simplistic tasks become complicated under occupation. Rana's Wedding does justice to the beauty of Jerusalem and shows it in all its splendour.

15. Between Heaven and Earth (2019, Palestine co-production, Najwa Najjar)

A beautiful film shows the difficulty of a couple in getting a divorce as the strains of occupation put up new obstacles and uncover a mysterious past.

16. Until the Birds Return (2017, Algeria co-production, Karim Moussaoui)

A fascinating film that combines three stories in a creative and surprising manner. 
Two music sequences come as a surprise but heighten the material.

 

17. Abou Leila (2019, Algeria/France, Amin Sidi-Boumédiène)

Director Amin Sidi-Boumedine has crafted an incredible film that uses the Algerian civil war as a springboard to dive into long-lasting impact of violence and trauma on citizens. Aided by Kaname Onoyama’s stunning visuals, Abou Leila uses the vast beautiful desert as a worthy canvas to explore this nightmarish tale that is a blend of different genres evoking Lynchian, Western and metaphysical themes.

18. Caramel (2007, Lebanon co-production, Nadine Labaki)

Nadine Labaki’s delightful debut feature is about five women debating their relationships. Four of the five women work in a beauty salon and their day is packed with gossip about their relationships and life in Beirut. The women also support each other and share a nice bond which comes in handy for situations when things get difficult.

19. A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia co-production, Férid Boughedir)

The bold and witty A Summer in La Goulette tackles a coming of age story of teenage girls, aching to fall in love or having their first kiss and more.

20. Bab’ Aziz (2005, Tunisia co-production, Nacer Khemir)

Bab’Aziz, the third film in Nacer Khemir’s desert trilogy, beautifully depicts the desert’s beauty in each frame. Also, the Sufi music against the background of giant sand dunes makes for a calm and mesmerizing experience.

21. Son of Babylon (2009, Iraq co-production, Mohamed Al Daradji)

Son of Babylon, a beautiful and emotional road journey film, is set a few weeks after the invasion of 2003 and depicts the devastating human impact on the lives of local Iraqis.

22. West Beirut (1998, Lebanon co-production, Ziad Doueiri)

A charming coming of age film related to the start of the Lebanese civil war that highlights how neighbours that got along one day became enemies the next.

23. The Silences of the Palace (1994, Tunisia co-production, Moufida Tlatli)

This film compliments and both contrasts Beauty and the Dogs. In Moufida's film, sexual abuse is not meant to talked about but instead quietly buried within the palace walls.

24. Divine Intervention (2002, Palestine co-production, Elia Suleiman)

Suleiman’s uses his trademark style to highlight absurd scenarios related to borders and checkpoints. There are some delightful references such as the red balloon free to roam across the border and the action sequence straight out of a comic book.

25. Clash (2016, Egypt co-production, Mohamed Diab)

Mohamed Diab’s powerful film depicts the division in Egyptian society that came to a boil in 2013. The entire film takes place in the confined space of a police van and that creates a powerful immersive experience!

Films by nations:

Top 10:

Palestine: 3
Egypt: 2
Algeria: 1
Syria: 1
Tunisia: 1
Kuwait: 1
Lebanon: 1

Women directors (3): Annemarie Jacir (Salt of This Sea), Najma Najjar (Pomegranates and Myrrh), Kaouther Ben Hania (Beauty and the Dogs).

Top 25:

Palestine:  7
Tunisia: 4
Algeria: 3
Egypt: 3
Lebanon: 3
Syria: 2
Kuwait: 1
Morocco: 1
Iraq: 1

6 films by 5 Women directors: Annemarie Jacir (Salt of This Sea), Najma Najjar (Pomegranates and Myrrh, Between Heaven and Earth), Kaouther Ben Hania (Beauty and the Dogs), Nadine Labaki (Caramel), Moufida Tlatli (The Silences of the Palace).

The Films of Férid Boughedir

1. Death Disturbs / La mort trouble (1970, co-directed with Claude d’Anna)
2. Caméra d’Afrique (1983)
3. Caméra Arabe (1987)
4. Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990)
5. A Summer in La Goulette (1996)
6. Villa Jasmin (2008)
7. Zizou and the Arab Spring / Sweet Smell of Spring (2016) 

It was a pleasant surprise to recently come across Férid Boughedir’s 2016 film Zizou and the Arab Spring because almost two decades had passed since I last saw a film by him, A Summer in La Goulette. The release of Zizou means Férid Boughedir has now directed 6 features in his career, 7 when including 1970’s La mort trouble which he co-directed Claude d’Anna. The quality of Boughedir’s films more than makes up for the lack of quantity as each film is a delightful treasure.

Boughedir started his career as a film critic covering African cinema at the onset of the Carthage and Ouagadougou Film festivals in the late 1960s. In last year’s discussion with the African Film Festival (NY), Boughedir described how he was fortunate to witness the emergence of African cinema due to these film festivals and how that changed his conception of what African cinema was and could be.

 

Boughedir was inspired by the pioneers of African cinema and that led to him directing the vital documentary Caméra d’Afrique (1983) which looks at 20 years of African cinema. He followed that up with Caméra Arabe (1987), an insightful documentary that looks at the development of Arab cinema and its rise against a background of turbulent political pressures. Three years later, he made his fictional feature film debut with Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces (1990), the award-winning film that thrust Boughedir into the global film festival limelight. After another 3 year gap, the lovely A Summer in La Goulette arrived but it would be more than a decade until his next film, Villa Jasmin (2008). Zizou followed 8 years later.

This long passage of time in between his movies also changed the medium of how I viewed his films. I saw Caméra arabe and Halfaouine on VHS tapes which I rented from a video store. Next, I saw A Summer in La Goulette on cable TV via Showcase channel’s weekly foreign film series (note: it was also on Showcase that I used to watch Cameron Bailey introduce cutting edge foreign/indie films on a weekly basis). And now, I have seen Zizou and the Arab Spring via streaming (Kanopy). This progression of watching films via different mediums feels appropriate when discussing Boughedir as he has been there to document the rise of African films from the initial days of 35mm film to digital streaming.

Coming of Age

Férid Boughedir’s critical coverage of African and Arab cinema in print and via film are essential for providing a gateway to understanding how cinema came of age in these two cinematic regions. In the above African film festival interview, Boughedir mentioned that he felt he had to document African cinema and their initial masters/pioneers first before he could even consider making his own first film even though the script for Halfaouine was already written before he directed Caméra d’Afrique. The wait proved worthy because Halfaouine: Child of the Terraces (1990) proved to be a watershed moment for his career and by extension Tunisian cinema itself. Based on some elements of Boughedir’s life, Halfaouine is a beautiful coming-of-age story that respectfully depicts the arise of sexuality, curiosity in a young boy.

 

Halfaouine is shown from the perspective of the young boy and as a result, political or sexual topics are rendered with a child like innocence. In the film, young Noura (Selim Boughedir, the director’s son) has been going with his mother to the local Hamam since he was a little boy but the mother has not realized Noura is growing up fast and developing an interest in girls and women. Noura’s eyes are wide open because he is staring at the naked girls and women around him and new feelings arise in him. Of course, he doesn’t understand these feelings nor does he fully grasp the world around him. In his case, ignorance is indeed bliss. Noura doesn’t understand anything about the dictatorship, or why people are getting arrested, why some are disappearing, or the writing of harmless slogans on the wall could get someone arrested. Noura’s goal in life is to understand the female species and to that end, he accomplishes his goal. 

 

After depicting the sexual awakening of a young boy, it appears natural that Boughedir’s next feature A Summer in La Goulette tackles the coming of age of teenage girls, aching to fall in love or having their first kiss and more. A Summer in La Goulette is bold, witty and funny. Again, Boughedir keeps political commentary on the fringes (the charged atmosphere leading to the 1967 war) while focusing on the quest of three teenage girls. The girls and their families all live in close quarters to each other and are mutual friends despite belonging to different religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). The film smartly shows that no matter what religion the girls follow, their fathers are equally stressed and worried about their daughters; the fathers want to protect their daughters from the eyes of the local boys at all costs but they don’t realize that it is their daughters who are the ones eyeing boys with equal passion and lust in the first place.

 

 

Boughedir’s smart satirical style and coming-of-age elements that worked beautifully in Halfaouine and A Summer in La Goulette shine through in Zizou and the Arab Spring. Even though the main character Zizou (Zied Ayadi) is an adult, he has this child like innocence about him. This is because Zizou is from the village so he lacks any knowledge about the corrupt, crime laden city life and is oblivious that he is being lied to, or he is going to get robbed and as a result, he doesn’t even know which political side he finds himself on. At different points in the film, Zizou helps the president’s henchmen or the revolutionaries wanting to take the government down. He easily trusts people even though there are glaring warning signs. Through a series of events, Zizou finds himself working repairing satellite dishes. This allows him to be present on the roofs of people’s houses. As a result, one of the character addresses him as the king  of the terraces, which is a tribute to Halfaouine. In fact, one can easily believe that the Noura from Halfaouine would exactly be like Zizou. Another nod towards Boughedir’s film comes when characters are seen discussing a plan to visit La Goulette.

The political commentary that was on the fringes of Halfaouine and A Summer in La Goulette certain takes center stage in Zizou. In those earlier films, the political revolution and six-day war references are heard on the radio or via dialogues but in Zizou, the main character accidentally becomes the poster boy for the Tunisian revolution and in turn for the Arab Spring. There is plenty of charm and romance in the film and the comedic style is clearly a Boughedir signature. The satire and comedy is Zizou is not like the deadpan style of Aki Kaurismäki or Jim Jarmusch because in the film, the joke is only on Zizou. The other characters are clearly duping him and the audience is also in the know. It is a film that deserves a happy ending and thankfully Boughedir doesn’t disappoint.

Top African Films of All Time

The challenge in making any top films list from a country or region is accessibility to quality works from that specific country/region. The problem of accessibility to quality African films has certainly gotten better over the last two decades but it is still not enough. Many African films (contemporary and classics alike) are out of reach due to lack of proper distribution or a proper quality transfer with adequate English subtitles. Still, this is my attempt at highlighting some of the remarkable African films I have seen over the last few decades.

Note: almost all the films in this list are co-productions but I had to leave out some co-productions due to the source of main production funding. For example, Rungano Nyoni’s stunning I Am Not a Witch would have made this top 10 but it was UK’s entry to the Oscars so it couldn't be included. Jessica Beshir’s hypnotic Faya Dayi is an American-Ethiopian co-production but it appears to be ineligible for inclusion and the same goes for Abou Leila, a personal favourite. The Battle of Algiers is included in my Italian films list.

Top 10 African Films of All Time

1. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, 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.

2. Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania/France, Med Hondo)

 

Med Hondo’s highly relevant and urgent film is an insightful look at the connection between colonialism, racism, migration and immigration. The film covers migration from Africa to France yet the topic is relevant for many other nations in Africa, Asia, South America whose citizens left (and continue to leave) for better jobs in their former colonizing country.

3. Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania/France/Qatar, Abderrahmane Sissako)

 

At its core, Timbuktu is about the centuries old problem of people from one nation/culture using violence/force to impose their ways onto another culture. As the film shows, violent exchanges often results in victims not getting justice and creates a perpetual circle of violent reactions to avenge the violent act. As a result, the film has an an air of inevitability around it.

Even though the film rejects any notion of a happy ending, Sissako has infused his film with plenty of dark satire which results in a few comical scenarios, yet the implications are nothing to laugh at. For example, in one scene, the militants want the local women to cover every part of their body, including wearing gloves on their hands. Yet, as one fish seller points out, she cannot handle the fish if she is wearing gloves. Her protests draw attention to the absurdity of the situation yet similar situations happen everyday where people are killed for not listening to the absurd demands of their invaders. Another such absurd moment happens when the militants forbid the local boys from playing soccer. This results in one of the most beautiful scenes in the film where the kids play soccer without a ball. The kids move around pretending they are passing an invisible ball or taking a shot at goal. This scene is one of the most powerful political protests ever filmed in cinema.

4. Black Girl (1966, Senegal/France, Ousmane Sembene)

Ousmane Sembene’s sharp debut feature is just over an hour long but it packs a punch. The film manages to draw a line between colonialism and post-colonial life and the associated discrimination, racism, prejudice that goes along with it.

5. Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene)

Ousmane Sembene's brilliant Moolaade highlights oppression of women by depicting a village’s old practice of female circumcision. Problems arise when a local woman supports the decision of a handful of girls to avoid the ritual. Her defiance leads to a mini revolution which shakes the patriarchal society.

In order to oppress the villagers and regain control, the elders decide that radios should be banned because they are influencing the minds of the people and exposing the villagers to dangerous foreign ideas. So an order is issued to collect all the village radios and burn them. This scene echoes the burning of books depicted in Fahrenheit 411.

6. Atlantics (2019, Senegal/France/Belgium, Mati Diop)

 

A haunting film that adds a new dimension to examine the reason why people undertake risky journeys across treacherous waters and the emotional impact on those who are left behind.

7. Félicité (2017, Senegal co-production, Alain Gomis)

 

Alain Gomis’ lovely film gives a pulsating tour of the Congolese capital Kinshasa complete with lively sights and electric sounds. We see the extremes in the city from the poor who are trying to make ends meet to the wealthy. The film is powered by an incredible performance by Véro Tshanda Beya who plays the titular character Félicité. Music is a core part of the film and there are scenes which feature live performances by the Kinshasa Symphonic Orchestra which lends a poetic feel to some of the sequences.

8. This is Not a Burial, it's a Resurrection (2019, Lesotho/South Africa/Italy, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese)

 

Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's film is a cinematic wonder, both in form and content. Visually, the film evokes Pedro Costa’s Vitalina Varela while the topic of a dam and destruction of a village in the name of progress recalls Jia Zhang-ke’s Still Life. However, Lemohang’s film has its own unique tone and rhythm enhanced by the setting of the film in landlocked Lesotho.

9. Tilaï / The Law (1990, Burkina Faso co-production, 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.

10. Yeelen (1987, Mali co-production, 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.

 

Top 10 by Country:

Senegal: 5
Mauritania: 2
Burkina Faso: 1
Lesotho: 1

Mali: 1

Safe to say, Senegal easily wins this.

Honourable mentions (alphabetical order):

Abouna (2002, Chad co-production, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Adanggaman (2000, Ivory Coast, Roger Gnoan M’Bala)
Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (2005, Tunisia co-production, Nacir Kemir)
Cairo Station (1958, Egypt, Youssef Chahine)
Hyenas (1992, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
Life on Earth (1998, Mali/Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)
Son of Man (2006, South Africa, Mark Dornford-May)
A Summer in La Goulette (1996, Tunisia co-production, Férid Boughedir)
Viva Riva! (2010, The Democratic Republic of Congo co-production, Djo Munga)
Waiting for Happiness (2002, Mauritania/France, Abderrahmane Sissako)

Top 20 by Country:

Senegal: 6
Mauritania: 4
Tunisia: 2
Burkina Faso: 1

Chad: 1

Democratic Republic of Congo: 1

Egypt: 1

Ivory Coast: 1

Lesotho: 1 

Mali: 1 

South Africa: 1

Senegal holds on for most titles per country. Mauritania finishes close courtesy of 3 titles by Abderrahmane Sissako.

Med Hondo's Soleil Ô

 Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania/France, Med Hondo)

I had read about Med Hondo in a few posts over the years. Yet, I hadn’t seen any of his films. So I waited. Just like I had done previously on many occasions for a film by a director whose films were meant to be seen. TIFF held a retrospective of his films in 2016 which once again brought his name to attention. Then in 2017, Dan Sullivan’s posts about Il Cinema Ritrovato presented hope:

“Right out of the gate, word spread fast about the legendary Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo’s rousing introductions at the screenings in his mini-retrospective, featuring the Film Foundation’s new World Cinema Project restoration of his debut feature, Soleil O (1970). “

It would only be a matter of time now. Yet, that time moved ever so slowly. Instead, almost two years later, the sad news came that Med Hondo passed away on March 2, 2019. Over the next few days, a few posts again heightened the need to see his film.

First, a republication of the 2016 TIFF retrospective with the eye-grabbing headline:

Med Hondo is the African Auteur You Need to See

Then, David Hudson’s post, which started off by referencing Dan Sullivan’s Film Comment article:

"In 2017, Bologna was set abuzz by a series of new restorations being presented at Il Cinema Ritrovato by the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. “Right out of the gate, word spread fast about the legendary Mauritanian filmmaker Med Hondo’s rousing introductions at the screenings in his mini-retrospective,” wrote Dan Sullivan for Film Comment."

And then finally, the announcement earlier this year about Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project 3 would have Med Hondo’s Soleil Ô. 

The wait was finally over in August when the Criterion Channel streamed the film online.

I firmly echo the headline by Rooney Elmi that Med Hondo’s film is more relevant now than ever. In fact, the topics of migration and immigration covered with such urgency by Hondo’s film have became an even more burning topic over the last few decades. If emigration and treatment of Africans in France was a problem back in 1967, then the last 5 decades have made it worse. The film covers migration from Africa to France yet the topic is relevant for many other nations in Africa, Asia, South America whose citizens left (and continue to leave) for better jobs in their former colonizing country.

The following lines are among my favourite from the film and illustrate the problem facing migrants:
 
There were tens of them in 1946, several hundred in 1948, over 15,000 in 1964 and 300,000 in 1967.

How many are there now? how many will there be tomorrow?
Beyond a certain level, a previously harmless phenomenon became more significant for some.

“Black invasion”.
The words are loaded with dynamite.

There are more and more of them. What are they doing here?
They wanted independence, now they can stay at home.
They get money, too.
We support them. Do you realise that?
You can’t push your luck too far.

Ok, they come here to do the jobs that we don’t want to do.
But they should invent machines to do them!
It’s simple, isn’t it?
Instead, look.
Great, isn’t it?

We former, present and future colonised people have contributed greatly to the foundation of your industrial and economic capital.
Should the interest on that capital not be our right?
So, please don’t say that we’re costing you dear.

Furthermore, the help you are giving to us is aimed above all at preserving your own markets and maintaining your economic privileges.

I thought of Dany Laferrière’s words from Why must a black writer write about sex? where he talked about people showing in America for the riches (and sex) that they had been sold on. Hondo instead talks about jobs but his words burn with truth:

We former, present and future colonised people have contributed greatly to the foundation of your industrial and economic capital.
Should the interest on that capital not be our right?
So, please don’t say that we’re costing you dear.
Furthermore, the help you are giving to us is aimed above all at preserving your own markets and maintaining your economic privileges.

France built its fortunes on the back of its African colonies as did England with India. Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Holland and even Italy owe a lot of their wealth and prosperity to their colonies. Yet, when people from those former colonized nations show up for low paying jobs, they are treated with contempt and looked upon with disgust, fear, distrust. And this situation has just gotten worse over the last few years.

Newton’s Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Western nations colonized countries and looted them. That was the action. The reaction is the migration of people from those former colonies moving to the colonizers. Yet, the citizens of the former colonies will never come close to the riches that the colonizers took from their nations. However, you can bet that those new migrants or immigrants will be blamed for all the problems in the Western nation.

All of this makes Med Hondo’s 1967 film one of the most relevant contemporary films.