Films from Africa made by Africans offer restorative images and a new film language. The beautiful and sometimes challenging films in this collection not only showcase the works of master filmmakers but also innovative new talents who are embracing video technology. To see Africa through African eyes will break stereotypes and enlighten viewers about life in Africa.
Articles to help you view and teach African cinema written by African filmmakers and scholars are also available.
Several of our newest releases touch upon the most urgent issues in world affairs that confront the African continent, specifically, war, human rights and the AIDS pandemic. We have prepared Advocacy for Africa , an exclusive new section of our website to provide you with critical information and to encourage you to join with groups taking action. Click here for information on the new South Africa-based African Film Library on-line subscription service.
DVD, 52 minutes, Sierre Leone / Spain, 1998, in English and Mende with English subtitles
Images, instrumental music, song, interviews and narrative provide clues in the search for a lost song, its history, and its argument for cultural retention between aspects of African and African-American culture. MORE...
VHS and DVD, 52 minutes, South Africa, 2004, In English and Zulu with English subtitles
Born into exile in Britain as the daughter of political emigres, Kethiwe Ngcobo and her family returned to South Africa in 1994. She struggles to find her place in the new South Africa. In her quest for identity, this hip young woman decides to embrace Zulu traditions by going through an initiation ritual - one rejected by her older sister as meaningless. MORE...
DVD, 98 minutes, 2 titles on 1 cassette, Cameroon, 1999 and 1994, in French with English subtitles
These two documentaries ponder democratic development in Africa. Chef! locates the roots of Africa's authoritatrian regimes in the patriarchal family, reinforced by traditional kingship and the colonial experience. La tête dans les nuages examines the informal economy. MORE...
VHS and DVD, 58 minutes, South Africa, 2004, In English and Afrikaans with English subtitles
Poorly paid garment workers in the Coloured townships around Cape Town have for years made clothes so that other women could dress up. But each year, after working for weeks on glamorous dresses, one woman among them will be crowned in the Annual Spring Queen pageant. MORE...
A compelling examination of the career of Melville J. Herskovits, the pioneering American anthropologist of African Studies and controversial intellectual who established the first African Studies Center at an American university and authored, The Myth of the Negro Past. MORE...
DVD, 94 minutes, Burkina Faso, 1995, in French and Jula with English subtitles Facilitator Guide Available
A young boy and his distant ancestor engage in parallel quests to understand their destinies and to know the meaning of their names. In so doing, Keita makes the case for an "Afrocentric" education, where African tradition, not an imported Western curricula is the necessary starting point for African development. MORE...
VHS and DVD, 50 minutes, Burkina Faso, 2004, Jula with English subtitles
Kounandi, a young beauty often scorned and overlooked because of her dwarfism, earns her living and finds village favor making delicious cup cakes. Kounandi falls in love with Karim only to discover that he is married to Awa who is dying. Kounandi mystically sacrifices her lifeforce (and cup cake pan) as a gift to the couple. MORE...
VHS and DVD, 102 minutes, France / Madagascar, 2004, in French and Malagasy with English subtitles
The group Mahaleo was born out of Madagascar’s 1972 rebellion against its neo-colonial regime. For 30 years, their music has embodied the Malagasy peoples’ struggle for pride and independence. Although internationally acclaimed, the members of the group continue to work in professions serving the Malagasy people - two are doctors, one an elected official, one a sociologist, and another leads an NGO. This film celebrates the relationship between Mahaleo and the people of Madagascar as the group prepares for its 30th anniversary concert in 2002. MORE...
