The Snake in My Bed
1995 Β· Documentary
In common with many L.A. Rebellion films, Snake touches on such themes as institutionalized racism, colonialism and the plight of women of color. Narrated in the first person by the filmmaker as an epistle to her son, The Snake in My Bed tells Diegu's story as a Nigerian woman in Lagos who is romantically pursed by a German national who has βgone native.β Despite his secretive and duplicitous actions, she eventually agrees to marry him and has his child, only to learn that he is a bigamist with a German wife and child.
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Liyana
2017 Β· β 9
A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.
More info βWithout a Fight
2012 Β· β 4.2
Without a Fight is a feature length documentary film that explores how soccer can facilitate social change in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums. Footage of violent clashes fueled by polarizing national presidential elections is intertwined with profiles of youth from different religious and ethnic backgrounds as they navigate daily life and prepare for the final championship soccer game of the season. The film provides a glimpse-often a very positive one-into an Africa few have seen. It attempts to break stereotypes associated with people who live in extreme poverty while depicting sports as a tool that could be used to prevent violence among at-risk youth. The film made its World Premiere at the 11 MM Festival in Berlin, Germany in March 2012 and its North American Premiere at the Full Frame Documentary Festival in Durham, NC in April 2012. - Written by Beth-Ann Kutchma
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Naked Spaces: Living Is Round
1985 Β· β 6.3
Shot with stunning elegance and clarity, NAKED SPACES explores the rhythm and ritual of life in the rural environments of six West African countries (Mauritania, Mali, Burkino Faso, Togo, Benin and Senegal). The nonlinear structure of NAKED SPACES challenges the traditions of ethnographic filmmaking, while sensuous sights and sounds lead the viewer on a poetic journey to the most inaccessible parts of the African continent: the private interaction of people in their living spaces.
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Return of a President
2017
In a fascinating geopolitical drama, Danish filmmaker Mik-Meyer closely follows Ravalomanana as he attempts to return from exile in South Africa to Madagascar, under the threat of arrest and bodily harm.
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Africa Uncensored
1971 Β· β 4.7
Documentary film making at its best as it narrates very exotic and esoteric rituals of the primitive peoples of Africa.
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Umoja - Wo nur Frauen das Sagen haben
2023 Β· β 9
380 kilometers from Nairobi, in the Samburu territory, lies a unique village: Umoja. Defended by a thorn fence, access is strictly forbidden to men. Created in 1991, it offers refuge to women repudiated by their husbands or victims of domestic violence. A nerve center for the community, its school is open to children from other villages, provided their families undertake not to subject them to genital mutilation or early marriage. As the new school year approaches, Jane, co-founder of the community, and Rose, teacher, meet little Samella's parents.
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Nollywood Babylon
2009 Β· β 6.1
Nigeria's film industry, Nollywood, is the third-largest in the world--an unstoppable economic and cultural force that has taken the continent by storm and is now bursting beyond the borders of Africa. "Nollywood Babylon" is a feature documentary detailing the industry's phenomenal success. Propelled by a booming 1970s soundtrack of African underground music, the movie presents an electric vision of a modern African metropolis and a revealing look at the powerhouse that is Nigerian cinema.
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The Man Who Stopped the Desert
2010 Β· β 7.5
As a child in Burkina Faso, Yacouba was sent away from home to study the Qur'an, where he and his classmates were almost starving. The young boys would trek across miles of wilderness, only to fall and beg at a straw hut for meagre rations. It is from this harsh background that the young farmer became determined to develop techniques that would bring exhausted soil back into production. His efforts have outdone the work of the world's leading scientists and technological advances costing millions of pounds. They may also yet prove crucial to the future of the world's rapidly growing population and global food demands.
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Saving a Species: Gorillas on the Brink
2007 Β· β 8
Actress Natalie Portman and renowned animal expert Jack Hanna delve deep into the rain forests of central Africa in search of the legendary and endangered mountain gorilla. With compelling footage of the gorillas in their jungle home, this episode of Animal Planet's Emmy Award-winning "Saving a Species" series is a striking and sobering assessment of the habits and habitats of one of the world's most fascinating animals.
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Cinema in Sudan: Conversations with Gadalla Gubara
2008
The film builds up a portrait of a great Sudanese film-maker, Gadalla Gubara. At eighty-seven, he is one of the pioneers of cinema in Africa. He has recently lost his sight but still continues to film life in Sudan as no one before him. Through his oeuvre, Gadalla reveals to us a Sudan both mysterious and misunderstood. Despite censorship and lack of financial support over sixty years, he has produced cinema that is independent and unique in a country where freedom of expression is a rare luxury.
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