Films & Videos on Africa


  • African Studies Videos at Columbia University (Columbia University Libraries)
    An annotated, up-to-date guide to the collections available to Columbia faculty and students.
  • Center for the Study and Research on African Women in Cinema. (Beti Ellerson, Department of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC)
    The site includes a "reference guide," with suggested films, links to selected film web sites, and the 1991 Statement by African Women Professionals at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
    --See also: bibliography -and- filmography.
  • Africiné -- Le site de la Fédération Africaine de la Critique Cinématographique
    Un portail des critiques, des analyses, des entretiens, des comptes rendus de festivals, et un répertoire de cinéastes. "Sur l'invitation des JCC 2004 (Journées cinématographiques de Carthage, Tunisie), des représentants de la critique cinématographique du Cameroun, du Burkina Faso, du Sénégal, du Maroc, de l'Algérie, de l'Egypte et de la Tunisie se sont réunis à Tunis du 2 au 7 octobre 2004 pour jeter les bases d'un regroupement et d'un travail commun. Il a été créé la Fédération africaine de la critique cinématographique (FACC)..."
    -- Veuillez voir aussi: Ecrans d'Afrique. (Online)--Archives, 1992-1998 -- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Fédération panafricaine des cinéastes.

  • ArtMattan Productions (New York)
    • "ArtMattan distributes films that focus on the human experience of black people in Africa, the Caribbean, North and South America and Europe. Many of the films listed are shown during the annual Contemporary African Diaspora Film Festival in New York."

  • Balancing act: telecoms, internet and broadcast  (London, UK)
  • Rencontres de Bamako 2024, 14ème Biennale Africaine de la Photographie, du 16 novembre au 16 janvier 2025
    Organisées par le Ministère de la Culture du Mali et l’Institut français, les Rencontres de Bamako sont la principale manifestation consacrée à la photographie et à la vidéo en Afrique.
  • Biyi Bandele-Thomas (1967-2022)
  • Black Film Archive (Maya Cade, Brooklyn, New York)
    An open access, annotated archive of "black films" currently available on the Internet, primarily via YouTube.com. "Black Film Archive celebrates the rich, abundant history of Black cinema. We are an evolving archive dedicated to making historically and culturally significant films made from 1898 to 1989 about Black people accessible through a streaming guide with cultural context."
    --See especially: Films from Senegal and South Africa
  • XXXIX Black International Cinema, Berlin, November-December 2024 and "Footprints in the Sand?" (Fountainhead Tanz Theatre, The Collegium Television Program and Cultural Zephyr, Berlin, Germany and USA)
  • BUALA (Buala Cultural Association, Lisbon, Portugal)
    "This is the first multidisciplinary portal dedicated to the critique, record and reflection on contemporary African cultures expressed in Portuguese language, producing texts and offering French and English translations."
    --See especially: Afroscreen: African cinema and multimedia ; and, I'll Visit: cultural events.
  • Bull Frog Films -- African Studies (Reading, Pennsylvania)
    "Bullfrog Films is the oldest and largest publisher of videos and films about the environment in the United States. Founded in 1973...our collection includes programs on ecology, energy, agriculture, indigenous peoples, women's studies, genetics, marine biology, sustainable development, community regeneration, economics, ethics, and conflict resolution."
  • California Newsreel: Library of African Cinema (San Francisco, California)
    Current catalog, plus link to Home Page. Note: this is a commercial site.
  • Centro Orientamento Educativo: Festival del Cinema Africano di Milano
    General information, programme, and events calendar.
  • Les cinémas d'Afrique: L'encyclopédie du film africain (Veuillez voir TV5Monde ci-dessous)
  • The Cinema Guild: African Studies (New York)
    Catalog of documentary films on and from Africa, 1980-1998; plus links to those in other subject areas. Note: This is a commercial site.
  • Clap Noir -- Cinéma et audiovisuel africains (Paris, France)
    Les actualités du monde du cinéma, plusieurs portraits des réalisateurs africains, les événements, les dossiers de presse sur nouveaux films, et des liens appropriés.
  • Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire (London, UK)
    --Also known as "Colonial Film Database"
    "This website holds detailed information on over 6000 films showing images of life in the British colonies. Over 150 films are available for viewing online. You can search or browse for films by country, date, topic, or keyword. Over 350 of the most important films in the catalogue are presented with extensive critical notes...The Colonial Film project united universities (Birkbeck and University College London) and archives (British Film Institute, Imperial War Museum and the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum) to create a new catalogue of films relating to the British Empire."
  • Columbia University, Institute of African Studies--Film Events, Fall 2017
  • 9th Annual "Congo in Harlem" Series, October 19-22, 2017, Maysles Cinema, Harlem, New York
    "...an annual series of films, panel discussions, performances, and special events focused on the history, politics, and culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
  • 7a Edição Dockanema, Festival do Filme Documentário, 14 a 23 de Setembro 2012, Maputo, Moçambique
  • Documentary Educational Resources (D.E.R.): Films on Africa and Elsewhere (Watertown, Massachusetts)
    "...a producer and distributor of films and videos in broadly defined areas of anthropology/ethnography, sociology and documentary." Note: this is a commercial site.
  • 45th Durban International Film Festival, July 18-28, 2024 (Durban, South Africa)

  • Ecrans d'Afrique. (Online)--Archive --via Africiné ci-dessus.
  • Facets Multi-Media (Chicago, Illinois)
    A general commercial website, with quite a number of Africa-related documentaries and features in its searchable catalog.
  • Fak'ugesi 2017--African Digital Innovation Festival and Conference, September 6-16, 2017, Braamfontein, South Africa
    "Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival is a non traditional electronic arts or media festival. In this its objective is not only to showcase existing work, but allow the festival to become a location for making and interrogating digital cultures."
    --Fak'ugesi Conference, September 14, 2017: programme & panelists

  • Safi Faye, 1943-2023
  • FESPACO: Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)
    The 29th edition of FESPACO, February 22-March 1, 2025
    The official site in English: "Created in 1969 in Ouagadougou, on the initiative of a few film enthusiasts, it became an institution on January 7th 1972 by decree in Burkina Faso, because of the enthusiasm and the hope it created among the public and filmmakers in Africa. It is biennial; starting on the last Saturday in February every odd year." The site includes information about award-winning films from previous festival years.
  • 2024 Festival International du Film Black de Montréal, Canada, du 25 au 29 septembre 2024
    "...a été créé en 2005 par la Fondation Fabienne Colas, organisme artistique professionnel, sans but lucratif, voué à l’éducation dans les arts et au soutien à la création, la promotion, la diffusion du Cinéma, de l’Art et de la Culture au Canada et à l’étranger."
    --Veuillez voir aussi: Toronto Black Film Festival below
  • Festival International du Film Panafricain, du 18 au 23 octobre 2022, Cannes, France
    Veuillez voir aussi, les informations sur les festivals de 2017, 2016, et les éditions plus anciennes.
  • 30th Annual Festival Cinema Africano, Asia, America Latina, 2021, Milan, Italy (plus highlights from previous festivals)
    • The website offers the programme for this year and full information about the festival--in Italian, English or French, with links to information on previous years...detailed program (with abundant photographs), reportage on events and awards, descriptions of new films and biographical sketches of directors.
  • Filmakers Library on African Studies "Academic Video Store" (Alexander Street Press, Alexandria, Virginia)
    Current titles on Africa from the online catalog. Note: this is a commercial site.
  • Films for the Humanities & Sciences Home Page (Princeton, New Jersey)
    A general, online catalog of films, videos, and CD-ROMs, organized under general subjects rather than geographical areas. Use the "browse" or "search" tools to find African studies materials. Note: this is a commercial site.
  • "Fold Crumple Crush: The Art of El Anatsui" (2011) by Dr. Susan Vogel (New York)
    Filmed over three years in Venice, Italy, Nsukka, Nigeria, and the US, this is a powerful portrait of Africa's most widely acclaimed contemporary artist. An insider's view of the artist's practice, the ingenious steps and thousands of hours of labor that convert used bottle tops into huge, opulent wall hangings. Here Anatsui explains how his artworks have become a marriage of painting and sculpture, objects that speak of African history but also reach for the ethereal--and he talks about his aspirations for artworks he has yet to make."
    --Credits: Producer, Prince Street Pictures, New York, USA ; Associate Producer, Isaac Kpelle, Accra, Ghana ; Director, Susan Vogel ; Editor, Harry Kafka ; Music, John Billingsley.
  • H-AFRLITCINE Web Page. (Humanities-Net; via Michigan State University)
    "H-AFRLITCINE is the H-Net discussion list dealing with African Literature and Cinema and is affiliated with the African Literature Association."
  • Hopes on the Horizon: Africa in the 1990s (Blackside, Inc., in conjunction with Invent Media Corp.; via PBS Online)
    The web site features video and audio clips and related essays accompanying the 2-hour television program of interviews, documentary footage, and reports. Benin, Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Mozambique, and South Africa are the focus of this chronicle of "pro-democracy movements" on the continent.
  • Icarus Films on Africa (New York)
    Current offerings from recent catalog. Note: this is a commercial site.
  • Inagina, l'ultime maison du fer: un film sur les forgerons dogon (Département d'Anthropologie et d'Ecologie, Université de Genève, Suisse)
    Ce site est une publicité pour le film, mais on y trouve les commentaires intéressants des réalisateurs, plusieurs images du film, et un bon de commande. Le film est disponible en anglais. On peut lire ce site en anglais.
  • Indiana University: The Black Film Center/Archive Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (Bloomington, Indiana)
  • Insight Media: Videos for College & High School Classrooms--Part of Alexander Street  (New York)
    A commercial catalog: search for "Insight Media" and then "African"
  • Journal of African cinemas. (Online) -- Bristol, UK: Intellect, Ltd., 2009-
    This subscription-based, online journal is edited by Keyan G. Tomaselli, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Martin Mhando, Murdoch University; guest editor: Blandine Stefanson, University of Adelaide.
    Note: this site provides free access to the November 2009 inaugural issue only; a subscription is required to access all subsequent issues.
  • Dani Kouyaté -- Site officiel (Roubaix, France)
    C'est le site du metteur en scène de théâtre et de cinéma Dani Kouyaté (du Burkina Faso). Voir surtout: la biographie et la filmographie.
  • Sotigui Kouyaté, 1936-2010
  • kweliTV. (Brooklyn, New YorK)
    ***Note: this is a commercial site. "kweliTV celebrates global Black stories and amplifies Black storytellers from North America, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Australia. Our mission is to curate and create content that is a true reflection of the global Black experience that’s oftentimes missing in traditional media...As a Black-owned media company, we believe storytelling can be a catalyst for change, connect communities and sparks activism."

  • << Little Senegal >> : Un film de Rachid Bouchareb -- via Vimeo (Paris, France)
     
  • Lumumba -- Zietgeist Films (New York)
    Promotional site: Video clips from the recently-released film, schedule of showings in the USA, information about the film's director, Raoul Peck -- including an audio clip from an interview. There are also brief summaries of Patrice Lumumba, the struggles of the Congolese people in Congo (Zaire), and information about the making of the film ; plus promotional links.
  • Michigan State University: African Media Program (East Lansing, Michigan)
    "The African Media Program (AMP) offers an online, comprehensive database of films, videos, and other audio-visual materials concerning Africa as well as education services about African media." The website features a searchable catalog, with film reviews and some tips on where to find items.
  • My Africa Is (Nosarieme Garrick, Hassatou Diallo, et al, USA)
    The site features open access full length documentary videos about pioneering Africans in various fields and reports on cultural and economic trends on the African continent. "...a documentary series taking you on a journey across the continent through the eyes of an insider."
  • National Geographic's "Africa: The Series" (Washington, DC)
    Promotional site about the 8-part television series beginning on public television in September 2001, co-produced by WNET/Thirteen's Nature. The site includes text excerpts and photographs; plus, related links to Africa-related resources and a "Kids" section.
  • National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution: "Senses of Time: Video and Film-Based Works of Africa," May 18, 2017-January 21, 2018 (Washington, DC)
  • Nollywood
  • OkayAfrica (New York, USA)
    "A digital media platform" featuring current and recent news on the latest trends in African music, art, film, literature, and politics, as well as interviews and reports on African artists in the USA and elsewhere in the diaspora.
  • PAFF: Pan African Film & Arts Festival (Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia)
    Celebrating 28 years!  General information, film & festival schedules, art show, and related links.....festivals in Los Angeles and in Atlanta, Georgia. "Established in 1992, The Pan African Film & Art Festival is the largest festival in the United States dedicated to the exhibition of Black films." 
    --See especially: PAFF 2022--Film Guide, April 19-May 1, 2022, Los Angeles
  • PBS Frontline Programs on Africa ("Frontline"/WGBH, Boston/PBS Online)
    • "Ghosts of Rwanda" (2004)
      The website for the PBS television program (2 hours) about reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. The site provides excerpted interviews, links & readings, a teachers' guide, etc.
    • "The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela": an intimate portrait of one of the century's greatest leaders.
      The web site contains a synopsis of the program, photos, interviews, anecdotes, a chronology, and information about ordering the video and transcripts and the teachers' guide.
    • "The Triumph of Evil"--"How the West ignored warnings of the 1994 Rwanda Genocide..."
      This web site contains further readings, graphic and disturbing images, full text interviews and other documents supplementing the 1999 documentary on the policies of the United Nations, the United States, and Belgium before and at the time of the genocide. The role of French policies is more prominent in the texts.
    • "Valentina's Nightmare: a journey into the Rwanda genocide"
      A collection of photographs, texts, and sound files supplementing a 1996 episode of the PBS television series "Frontline". Note: Most of the images are graphic and very disturbing.
  • PBS Nova Programs on Africa ("Nova"/WGBH, Boston/PBS Online)
    • "The Lost Tribes of Israel"
      Supplemental web resources (and video order information) for a program on the search for the so-called "lost tribes of Israel", the "Jewish" claims made by an African community in what is now Zimbabwe, and the problems that have often arisen surrounding a "history of origins" for the Great Zimbabwe ruins, some Jewish families, and the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings in the United States.
  • PBS Online: Wonders of the African World, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
    • The web site that accompanies the television series -- a travel show, with brief history lessons and Gates' own personal views. The site includes teaching resources, background information, and brief supplementary texts, video files, and small photos. Featured in the series: the Nile River valley in Egypt and The Sudan, Ethiopia, the Swahili coast, Bénin (Dahomey), Ghana (Asante), Mali, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
  • Reel Sisters of the Diaspora (Brooklyn, New York)
    Established in 1997: "Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series is the first Academy Qualifying Festival for Short narratives devoted to showcasing films produced, directed and written by women of color."
    --See especially: Reel Sisters 2021 Awards Ceremony -and- Reel Sisters Award Winners 2021
  • The Royal African Society: Film Africa 2020, October 30--November 8, 2020 (London, UK)
    "Established in 2011, the festival brings diverse London and UK audiences a high quality and wide-ranging film programme accompanied by a vibrant series of events, including director Q&As, talks and discussions; professional workshops and master classes; school screenings and family activities; and Film Africa LIVE! music nights."
  • Sankofa.Com (Washington, DC)
    A promotional site for the films of Haile Gerima and his film company, Mypheduh Films. Gerima is an Ethiopian-born filmmaker who came to the US in 1967 and has directed and/or produced such films as "Sankofa", "Ashes and Embers", "Bush Mama", and "Harvest 3,000 Years".
  • The Say Brother Collection -- WGBH Boston (Boston, Massachusetts)
    The website of the archive of a local public television program (1968-1982), featuring a searchable program directory and an extensive digital gallery of sample film excerpts. "Say Brother is WGBH's longest running public affairs television program by, for and about African Americans, and is now known as Basic Black. Since its inception in 1968, Say Brother has featured the voices of both locally and nationally known African American artists, athletes, performers, politicians, professionals, and writers..."
  • Ousmane Sembène, 1923-2007
  • South African National Film and Video Foundation: Gateway to the South African Film and Television Industry (Johannesburg, South Africa)
  • SPLA -- Portail de la Diversité Culturelle SudPlanète (Paris, France)
    Ce site offre les actualités et les liens sur les divers événements culturels au tour du monde francophone.
  • Surprising Europe (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) --via YouTube.com
    • A television program produced by Al Jazeera in 2011. "Surprising Europe consists of a documentary and a nine part television series. Surprising Europe.com is a community of people who are interested in African-European migration issues."
      --See also: Al-Jazeera.com "About the Show"
  • Jean-Marie Teno
  • Third World Newsreel: Catalog of Films on Africa and African Americans (New York)
    Note: This is a commercial site. TWN offers only a small number of films on Africa; much more on African-Americans and other communities. "For 30 years, Third World Newsreel has been the foremost distributor of films and videos by People of Color in America and by Third World and Indigenous people throughout the world. Third World Newsreel distributes almost 300 films and videos from the African, Asian, Latino, Palestinian, and Native American diasporas."
  • This is Africa : the voice of a new generation (Ghetto Radio Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Nairobi, Kenya)
    The site offers current news and opinions about the contemporary music and arts scene in Africa and in the African diaspora; plus three online radio channels.
    --See especially: TIA TV
  • 2024 Toronto Black Film Festival, February 14-19, 2024 (Canada)
    "...created in 2013 by the Fabienne Colas Foundation, a not-for-profit, professional, artistic organization dedicated to promoting Cinema, Art and Culture in Canada and abroad."
    --See also: Festival International Black de Montréal above.
  • TV5 Monde sur l'Afrique (Paris, France)
  • Vues d'Afrique -- Journées du Cinéma Africain et Créole (Montréal, Canada)
    Ce site offre les informations sur les diverses expositions et vissionements à Montréal et à Québec, Canada.
  • Witness: Using Video and Technology to Fight for Human Rights (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, New York)
    General information about the "Witness" program, a video archive catalog, and multi-media, online feature stories which include some on Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, and South Africa.
  • 24th Annual Zanzibar International Film Festival -- "Sharing Our Heritage with the World = Urithi Huu ni Wetu Sote" July 21-22, 2021 (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
    General information on a wide variety of events and links to related websites. Plus, information from past festivals. "ZIFF is a non-profit organisation based in Zanzibar [founded in 1997] which aims to promote film, music and arts from the Dhow Countries (African Continent, Gulf States, Iran, India, Pakistan and the islands of the Indian Ocean). The organisation is working throughout the year and seeks to include people from all sectors of society, with special programmes for women, children and people in rural areas."
  • Zimmedia Film and Video (Harare, Zimbabwe)
    • "...a multicultural film and video production company from Zimbabwe. Winner of many international awards for both documentary and fiction, our mission is to tell stories that throw a light on what it means to be African." Including:
    • Flame - Zimbabwe 1996
      The site offers information about the award winning film, "Flame" -- available on video, its director (Ingrid Sinclair) and the production company, and related links. Flame--"shot in Zimbabwe with an entirely Zimbabwean cast, the film is based on the accounts of women who joined the liberation war."