Jean-Pierre Bekolo is an African film director of great potential. Like many other African directors he does not have the luxury of a hefty budget to be allocated to his productions but that has not stopped him from creating some of the most astute, entertaining  and delightful movies to emerge out of Africa. After having [...]

Here’s what the main trouble with movies about Africa is in my case: it is almost never fully fiction. From time to time, I feel the need to just watch a movie and enjoy it for what it is. With the exception of District 9 that is still on my “to do list” there are [...]

”Angolan children got guns for Christmas; European kids got grapes,” I had troubles with watching this movie and reviewing it. I have postponed this job for months.  Now, I finally think I have a clear mind to look at it objectively, but I’m still not sure of that. Some of you might now that Tanzania [...]

I want to confess that I have been waiting for this movie for over two years since I first blogged about the possibility that Morgan Freeman, one of my favorite actors of all time, will play the role of Nelson Mandela in one of the moments that shaped the history of reconciliation in South Africa: [...]

I watched Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (1996) several months ago yet I decided not to write anything about it until now. It is quite difficult to judge the movie on its own since it is more of a tribute than an independent inquiry. Our beliefs do not change after watching the [...]

From filmmakers Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza comes a very short documentary about the lives of thousands of people still living in slum-like dwellings. After spending a week in Abahlali baseMjondolo in December 2007, the directors compiled this short but powerful documentary which allows ordinary people to talk about their problems, anxieties and daily struggles. [...]

From Angus Gibson, the producer of the famous documentary Mandela, comes 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children (2006), a stunning documentary that features the same 11 children interviewed every seven years since 1992. These children were selectively chosen from various racial, social and personal backgrounds. They are white, black or colored, rich, poor or middle [...]

Jarreth Merz is a Swiss-Nigerian actor living in Los Angeles. When his father passed away he was summoned to Nigeria. He is the first born so, according to the local customs, he is in charge of the burial ceremony and the family wealth. While not completely aware of the Nigerian traditions and their implications, he [...]

Jaguar (1967) is a movie by famous French moviemaker, anthropologist, explorer and storyteller Jean Rouch. He has spent more than sixty years making movies in Africa, thus creating a new movie style called ethnofiction. He is widely considered to be the father of Nigerien movie industry (Niger, not Nigeria) as he is the first director [...]

Ideally, any Westerner who has an interest in African culture and African beats should attend the African Footprint show. As this is not always possible, mainly for monetary reasons, a convenient alternative is now on the market. You can rent or buy the DVD featuring South Africa’s most famous cultural show. But firstly, what is [...]