Movies set in Africa
by petje-skg | created - 30 Oct 2018 | updated - 05 Nov 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
R | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, Kerry Washington
Votes: 195,913 | Gross: $17.61M
2. Blood Diamond (2006)
R | 143 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kagiso Kuypers
Votes: 585,496 | Gross: $57.37M
3. Timbuktu (2014)
PG-13 | 96 min | Drama, War
A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako | Stars: Ibrahim Ahmed, Abel Jafri, Toulou Kiki, Layla Walet Mohamed
Votes: 18,272 | Gross: $1.08M
4. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
Director: Terry George | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
Votes: 371,795 | Gross: $23.53M
5. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
TV-MA | 137 min | Drama, War
A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga | Stars: Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor, Andrew Adote
Votes: 86,765 | Gross: $0.08M
6. Cry Freedom (1987)
PG | 157 min | Biography, Drama, History
South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Josette Simon, Wabei Siyolwe
Votes: 14,451 | Gross: $5.90M
7. The Constant Gardener (2005)
R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A widower's transcontinental quest to find answers about his wife's death leads him to explosive secrets.
Director: Fernando Meirelles | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Hubert Koundé
Votes: 148,399 | Gross: $33.58M
8. Captain Phillips (2013)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener
Votes: 492,139 | Gross: $107.10M
9. Invictus (2009)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng
Votes: 167,790 | Gross: $37.49M
10. Tsotsi (2005)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Matseke-Zulu, Terry Pheto
Votes: 31,593 | Gross: $2.91M
11. District 9 (2009)
R | 112 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
Votes: 716,267 | Gross: $115.65M
12. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto, Robert Hobbs
Votes: 29,178 | Gross: $8.32M
13. The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
PG | 109 min | Adventure, Comedy
A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.
Director: Jamie Uys | Stars: N!xau, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, Louw Verwey
Votes: 59,413 | Gross: $30.03M
14. The Good Lie (2014)
PG-13 | 110 min | Biography, Drama
A group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in the U.S., arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.
Director: Philippe Falardeau | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal
Votes: 30,006 | Gross: $2.72M
15. Queen of Katwe (2016)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
A Ugandan girl sees her world rapidly change after being introduced to the game of chess.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza
Votes: 18,669 | Gross: $8.81M
16. The Pirates of Somalia (2017)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama
In 2008, rookie journalist Jay Bahadur forms a half-baked plan to embed himself with the pirates of Somalia. He ultimately succeeds in providing the first close-up look into who these men are, how they live, and the forces that drive them.
Director: Bryan Buckley | Stars: Al Pacino, Evan Peters, Barkhad Abdi, Melanie Griffith
Votes: 11,131
17. Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
R | 129 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Sam Childers is a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who found God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker
Votes: 68,926 | Gross: $0.54M
18. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,156 | Gross: $108.64M
19. Lord of War (2005)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 336,599 | Gross: $24.15M
20. Africa United (2010)
88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The story of four children who walk three thousand miles to get to the world cup. On the way they encounter many things such as HIV and child prostitution.
Director: Debs Paterson | Stars: Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Sanyu Joanita Kintu, Yves Dusenge
Votes: 1,535
21. Goodbye Bafana (2007)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
Goodbye Bafana is the true story of a white South African racist whose life was profoundly altered by the black prisoner he guarded for twenty years. The prisoner's name was Nelson Mandela.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger, Patrick Lyster
Votes: 12,229
22. War Witch (2012)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, War
Somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona, a 14-year-old girl, tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.
Director: Kim Nguyen | Stars: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien, Serge Kanyinda, Ralph Prosper
Votes: 7,564 | Gross: $0.07M
23. Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008)
R | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young hoodlum's rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
Director: Ralph Ziman | Stars: Rapulana Seiphemo, Jeffrey Sekele, Ronnie Nyakale, Shelley Meskin
Votes: 10,909 | Gross: $0.00M
24. The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1989)
PG | 98 min | Comedy
Six people meet in the Kalahari desert: a female NYC lawyer flying with a local zoologist/pilot in a mini-plane, a Cuban and an African soldier taking each other POW, a Boer elephant poacher, and a Bushman looking for his two children.
Director: Jamie Uys | Stars: N!xau, Lena Farugia, Hans Strydom, Eiros
Votes: 18,041 | Gross: $6.29M
25. The Power of One (1992)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Sport
An English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope, in a time of war.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, Nomadlozi Kubheka
Votes: 10,690 | Gross: $2.83M
26. Zulu (2013)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Policemen Ali Sokhela and Brian Epkeen investigate the brutal murder of a young white woman, apparently provoked by the availability of a new illegal drug and somehow connected to the disappearance of black street children.
Director: Jérôme Salle | Stars: Orlando Bloom, Forest Whitaker, Conrad Kemp, Inge Beckmann
Votes: 19,839
27. Desert Flower (2009)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama
Waris Dirie, born 1965 in Somalia, flees at thirteen when sold to be a mans fourth wife. She works as a maid at the Somalian embassy in London, then in a McDonald's where she's discovered and becomes an international top model. Then, in 1997 she speaks up against female genital mutilation.
Director: Sherry Hormann | Stars: Soraya Omar-Scego, Idriss Abdillahi Houfaneh, Awa Saïd Darar, Roun Daher Aïnan
Votes: 14,191 | Gross: $0.04M
28. Shooting Dogs (2005)
R | 115 min | Drama, History, War
A Catholic Priest and an English teacher get stranded in a school in Kigali during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, Dominique Horwitz, Louis Mahoney
Votes: 11,966
29. Catch a Fire (2006)
PG-13 | 101 min | Biography, Drama, History
A drama about terrorism in Apartheid-era South Africa, revolving around a policeman and a young man who carries out solo attacks against the regime.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Derek Luke, Tim Robbins, Bonnie Mbuli, Mncedisi Shabangu
Votes: 11,037 | Gross: $4.29M
30. The First Grader (2010)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager and ex Mau Mau veteran who fights for his right to go to school for the first time to get the education he could never afford.
Director: Justin Chadwick | Stars: Naomie Harris, Oliver Litondo, Tony Kgoroge, Alfred Munyua
Votes: 4,893 | Gross: $0.33M
31. Lumumba (2000)
Not Rated | 115 min | Biography, Drama, History
The true story of controversial leader of independent Congo Patrice Lumumba.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Eriq Ebouaney, Alex Descas, Théophile Sowié, Maka Kotto
Votes: 2,081 | Gross: $0.68M
32. Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A South African preacher goes to search for his wayward son, who has committed a crime in the big city.
Director: Darrell Roodt | Stars: Richard Harris, James Earl Jones, Vusi Kunene, Charles S. Dutton
Votes: 2,031 | Gross: $0.68M
33. Half of a Yellow Sun (2013)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance
Sisters Olanna and Kainene return home to 1960s Nigeria, where they soon diverge on different paths. As civil war breaks out, political events loom larger than their differences as they join the fight to establish an independent republic.
Director: Biyi Bandele | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandiwe Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Joseph Mawle
Votes: 2,148 | Gross: $0.05M
34. Who Killed Captain Alex? (2015)
Not Rated | 64 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Uganda's president gives Captain Alex an assignment to defeat the Tiger Mafia, but he gets killed in the process. Upon hearing the tragic news, his brother investigates to avenge Alex's death.
Director: Nabwana I.G.G. | Stars: Kakule William, Sserunya Ernest, G. Puffs, Kavubu Muhammed
Votes: 10,812
35. Karmen Gei (2001)
86 min | Musical, Romance, Drama
Like every Carmen, Karmen Geï is about the conflict between infinite desire for freedom and the laws, conventions, languages, the human limitations which constrain that desire.
Director: Joseph Gaï Ramaka | Stars: Djeïnaba Diop Gaï, Magaye Niang, Stephanie Biddle, Thierno Ndiaye Doss
Votes: 257
36. Sometimes in April (2005 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 140 min | Drama, History, War
When the Hutu nationalists raised arms against their Tutsi countrymen in Rwanda in April 1994, the violent uprising marked the beginning of one of the darkest times in African history which resulted in the deaths of almost 800,000 people.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Idris Elba, Carole Karemera, Pamela Nomvete, Oris Erhuero
Votes: 6,035
37. Moolaadé (2003)
Unrated | 124 min | Drama
When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traoré, Dominique Zeïda
Votes: 4,146 | Gross: $0.21M
38. Black Girl (1966)
Not Rated | 65 min | Drama
A black girl from Senegal becomes a servant in France.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Anne-Marie Jelinek, Robert Fontaine, Momar Nar Sene
Votes: 5,999
39. Rafiki (2018)
83 min | Drama, Romance
"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
Director: Wanuri Kahiu | Stars: Samantha Mugatsia, Neville Misati, Nice Githinji, Charlie Karumi
Votes: 3,294 | Gross: $0.14M
40. A Girl from Mogadishu (2019)
TV-MA | 113 min | Drama
This is based on the testimony of Ifrah Ahmed, who--having made the extraordinary journey to escape war-torn Somalia--emerged as one of the world's foremost international activists against ... See full summary »
Director: Mary McGuckian | Stars: Aja Naomi King, Barkhad Abdi, Martha Canga Antonio, Maryam Mursal
Votes: 203
41. October 1 (2014)
PG-13 | 148 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As Nigeria prepares for independence from the British in 1960, a seasoned police detective rushes to find the serial killer slaughtering its native young women.
Director: Kunle Afolayan | Stars: Sadiq Daba, Kayode Olaiya, Ademola Adedoyin, David Bailie
Votes: 530
42. Sew the Winter to My Skin (2018)
132 min | Action, Adventure
In a racially-charged and violent 1950's rural South Africa, a liberal journalist recounts the epic chase, edge-of-your-seat capture and intriguing trial of a flamboyant, native "Robin Hood... See full summary »
Director: Jahmil X.T. Qubeka | Stars: Ezra Mabengeza, Peter Kurth, Kandyse McClure, Zolisa Xaluva
Votes: 166
43. Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu (2016)
107 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
After the events of June 16th, Mamelodi township schoolboy-hawker Solomon Mahlangu joins the military wing of the ANC to fight against the brutal oppression of the Apartheid regime, and he ... See full summary »
Director: Mandla Dube | Stars: Thabo Rametsi, Thabo Malema, Welile Nzuza, Jafta Mamabolo
Votes: 463
44. Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
98 min | Drama, War
A cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in the West African Country Liberia.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire | Stars: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Joseph Duo, Dagbeth Tweh
Votes: 3,531
45. Bamako (The Court) (2006)
115 min | Drama
Bamako. Melé is a bar singer, her husband Chaka is out of work and the couple is on the verge of breaking up... In the courtyard of the house they share with other families, a trial court ... See full summary »
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako | Stars: Aïssa Maïga, Tiécoura Traoré, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Habib Dembélé
Votes: 1,493 | Gross: $0.11M
46. Winnie Mandela (2011)
R | 104 min | Biography, Drama, History
A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband's incarceration.
Director: Darrell Roodt | Stars: Jennifer Hudson, Terrence Howard, Elias Koteas, Wendy Crewson
Votes: 996
47. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
TV-MA | 108 min | Action, Drama, History
Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.
Director: Richie Smyth | Stars: Jamie Dornan, Emmanuelle Seigner, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt
Votes: 44,307
48. In a Better World (2010)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Markus Rygaard, Wil Johnson
Votes: 41,659 | Gross: $1.01M
49. Duma (2005)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Mary Makhatho
Votes: 8,596 | Gross: $0.86M
50. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
TV-PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, History
Against all the odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Felix Lemburo, Robert Agengo
Votes: 44,295
51. Atlantics (2019)
TV-14 | 106 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
In a popular suburb of Dakar, workers on the construction site of a futuristic tower, without pay for months, decide to leave the country by the ocean for a better future. Among them is Souleiman, the lover of Ada, promised to another.
Director: Mati Diop | Stars: Mame Bineta Sane, Amadou Mbow, Traore, Nicole Sougou
Votes: 10,487
52. White Material (2009)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, War
Amidst turmoil and racial conflict in a Francophone African state, a white French woman fights for her coffee crop, her family and ultimately for her life.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lambert, Isaach De Bankolé, Nicolas Duvauchelle
Votes: 8,413 | Gross: $0.30M
53. The Burial of Kojo (2018)
80 min | Drama, Thriller
A man is trapped in a mine shaft by his vengeful brother while his daughter embarks on a magical journey to rescue him.
Director: Blitz Bazawule | Stars: Joseph Otsiman, Mamley Djangmah, Kobina Amissah-Sam, Ama K. Abebrese
Votes: 808
54. I Am All Girls (2021)
TV-MA | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Director: Donovan Marsh | Stars: Erica Wessels, Hlubi Mboya, Leshego Molokwane, Nomvelo Makhanya
Votes: 7,347
55. Lingui (2021)
87 min | Drama
Amina, a practicing Muslim, lives with her daughter, 15-year-old Maria. When Amina learns Maria is pregnant and wants to abort the child, they face an impossible situation in a country where abortion is legally and morally condemned.
Director: Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | Stars: Achouackh Abakar Souleymane, Rihane Khalil Alio, Youssouf Djaoro, Briya Gomdigue
Votes: 1,250
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