griggs's - African August 2025: A Whole Continent Projected List
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Cairo Station (1958)Bab el hadid
The lustful fantasies of crippled Qinawi a newsstand vendor in a Cairo train depot morph into a dangerous fixation with a seductive but scheming lemonade seller just as a serial killer begins terrorizing the city in this Egyptian thriller. Also directed by Chahine, the film met with a chorus of condemnation upon its 1958 release but is now considered a masterwork by many cinephiles and critics. - Director:
- Youssef Chahine
- Cast:
- Farid Shawqi, Hind Rostom, Youssef Chahine
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The Gravedigger's Wife (2021)Guled & Nasra / The Grave Digger
Guled (Omar Abdi) and Nasra (Yasmin Warsame) are a loving couple, living in the outskirts of Djibouti city with their teenage son Mahad (Kadar Abdoul-Aziz Ibrahim). However they are facing difficult times: Nasra urgently needs an expensive operation to treat chronic kidney disease. Guled is already working hard as a gravedigger to make ends meet: how will they find the money to save Nasra and can they keep the family together? - Director:
- Khadar Ayderus Ahmed
- Cast:
- Omar Abdi, Yasmin Warsame, Kadar Abdoul-Aziz Ibrahim
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Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975)Ahdat sanawovach el-djamr / Chronicle of the Burning Years / Chronicle of the Years of Embers
The colonial exploitation of Algeria by the French - which led up to the 1954 rebellion in Algeria - is the focus of this sweeping epic, sponsored by the Algerian government. Achmed (Jorge Voyagis) and his family are forced to leave their rural home in search of water. While they are trying to adjust to city life, he is drafted into an Algerian unit fighting in the Second World War. He returns to Algeria after the war only to find that the colonial grip has grown even tighter, and following an edict forbidding public meetings, he joins the growing revolt. - Director:
- Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
- Cast:
- Yorgo Voyagis, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Leila Shenna
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After a minor incident in her village, nine-year-old Shula is exiled to a travelling witch camp where she is told that if she tries to escape she will be transformed into a goat. As she navigates through her new life with her fellow witches and a government official who exploits her innocence for his own gain, she must decide whether to accept her fate or risk the consequences of seeking freedom. - Director:
- Rungano Nyoni
- Cast:
- Benfors 'Wee Do, Boyd Banda, Kalundu Banda
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A true classic of South African cinema. The film captures precisely and evocatively the politically charged atmosphere of the country in the late 1980's, when apartheid was at its most oppressive and destructive in daily life. Panic stalks the streets of Jo'burg, waiting and lurking around street corners. Panic is a small-time crook specialising in picking pockets and mugging at knife-point. His criminal exploits are mostly solo, though on occasion he works with a partner. In one of the most memorable performances of South African film, Thomas Mogotlane creates the character of Panic. Whether moving slickly on the street, bullying his way at the shebeen, eluding his landlady, or taking advantage of his domestic-worker girlfriend - Panic is unforgettable. But it is his journey from petty thief to man of principle that is the true fabric of the film. Arrested one day with a group of political activists, Panic is interrogated by the security police. He is offered all sorts of financial inducements to testify against - the activists sharing his prison cell. It is these moments that he is forced to make some life altering decisions. - Director:
- Oliver Schmitz
- Cast:
- Thomas Mogotlane, Marcel Van Heerden, Thembi Mtshali
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Return of an Adventurer (1966)Le retour d'un aventurier
The Wild West comes to Africa in this raucous send-up of cultural colonialism - an influence on Djibril Diop Mambety's 'Touki Bouki' - in which a young Nigerien man returns home from a trip to the United States with suitcase full of cowboy outfits in tow. Donning the western wear, he and his friends bring a taste of lawless frontier mayhem to their town. - Director:
- Moustapha Alassane
- Cast:
- Harouna Diarra, Djingarey Abdoulaye Maïga, Zalika Souley
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Muna Moto (1975)Tudji sin
Ngando and Ndomé; are in love. Ngando wishes to marry Ndomé; but her family reminds him that the traditional dowry must be settled. Unfortunately, Ngando is poor and unable to fulfill the tradition. Ndomé; is pregnant and bears his child. According to the village tradition, she must take a husband, at least one who can afford to pay the dowry. The villagers decide that Ndomé; should marry Ngando's uncle, who has already three sterile wives. In despair, the young man kidnaps his daughter upon the day of the traditional feast. An African Romeo and Juliet story. - Director:
- Jean-Pierre Dikongue-Pipa
- Cast:
- Philippe Abia, Samuel Baongla, Catherine Biboum
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In a small village nestled amongst the pythonic mountains of land-locked Lesotho, an 80 year old widow awaits the return of her only surviving family member. Her son; a migrant worker labouring in a South African coal mine. It is Christmas and he is due home. Sombre messengers deliver the news: Her son has died in a mining accident. Distraught by the sudden news of his untimely death, Mantoa (Mary Twala) struggles to find meaning in her existence. An invisible wall of bewilderment arises and stands between Mantoa and the outside world. God, the village, and reality too appear further and further away. Consumed by grief, her yearning for death and reuniting with her family steadily grows. She yearns to be laid to rest in the local cemetery with her loved ones. Mantoa winds up her early affairs and makes arrangements for her own burial. Her plans are punctuated when she learns that the village is to be forcibly resettled due to the construction of a dam reservoir. The land will be flooded and the cemetery desecrated. Mantoa's resolve is unwavering; igniting a collective spirit of defiance within the community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa's legend is forged and made eternal. - Director:
- Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
- Cast:
- Jerry Mofokeng, Tseko Monaheng, Makhaola Ndebele
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Timbuktu (2014)Le chagrin des oiseaux
In the acclaimed new film by Abderrahmane Sissako (Bamako) the people of the Malian city, Timbuktu, struggle against an oppressive regime of terror inflicted upon them by invading Jihadists who prohibit every enjoyable indulgence of life. Meanwhile, Kidane lives a peaceful life in the nearby dunes, but when he has an altercation with a neighbour the extremists take it upon themselves to deliver their brand of draconian justice. - Director:
- Abderrahmane Sissako
- Cast:
- Ibrahim Ahmed, Abel Jafri, Toulou Kiki
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Wanuri Kahiu directs this romantic drama set in Kenya. Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) is a studious teenager hoping to become a nurse when she falls for the extroverted Ziki (Sheila Munyiva). As both women get to know each other they must tread carefully as same-sex relationships are still illegal, as well as this, their relationship also risks scandalising the reputations of their respective fathers (Jimmi Gathu and Dennis Musyoka) who are both seeking representation in the upcoming regional elections. - Director:
- Wanuri Kahiu
- Cast:
- Samantha Mugatsia, Neville Misati, Nice Githinji
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Night of the Kings (2020)La nuit des rois
A young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison in the middle of the Ivorian forest ruled by its inmates. As tradition goes with the rising of the red moon, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners. Learning what fate awaits him, he begins to narrate the mystical life of the legendary outlaw named "Zama King" and has no choice but to make his story last until dawn. - Director:
- Philippe Lacôte
- Cast:
- Bakary Koné, Steve Tientcheu, Jean Cyrille Digbeu
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Grey Matter (2011)Matière Grise
Balthazar (Hervé Kimenyi) is a young African filmmaker on the brink of directing his first project, The Cycle of the Cockroach, a fictional story about a young woman who survived unspeakable atrocities only to find herself committed to the same mental institution as a man driven insane by the crimes he perpetrated during the war. Potential funders for the film insist the themes are too bleak and pessimistic-they encourage Balthazar to make a "message" film that raises awareness about gender-based violence or HIV/AIDS instead. But he refuses to give up. Instead of telling his production team the news, Balthazar continues preparations for the film without financing or equipment. After rehearsing a scene with each of the characters, reality blurs and scenes from the script materialize, provoking the question: Can a film like this exist only in the director's dreams? Armed with a daring and creative visual language, writer/director Kivu Ruhorahoza boldly grasps at the illusory trick of representation in the wake of trauma and its ensuing madness. Paralleling the protagonist in his film, Ruhorahoza's debut marks the very first feature-length narrative film directed by a Rwandan filmmaker living in his homeland. - Director:
- Kivu Ruhorahoza
- Cast:
- Ramadhan Bizimana, Tamim Hakizimana, Kennedy Jones Mazimpaka
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An extraordinary story that navigates trough the magical neo-realism of an old building in downtown Luanda. When the city's air-conditioners mysteriously start to fall, Matacedo (José Kiteculo - security guard) and Zezinha (Filomena Manuel - housemaid) have the mission of retrieving their boss's ac. This mission will take them trough a world full of water leaks, cracks, cages of noisy generators and hope when they enter the mysterious semi-abandoned electrical shop of the neighborhood. - Director:
- Fradique
- Cast:
- José Kiteculo, Filomena Manuel, David Caracol
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Bamako (2006)Bamako: el grito de lucha de un continente
Set in the courtyard of a mud-walled house in Bamako, the capital city of Mali, the intimate personal story of an African couple on the verge of breaking up is told alongside a very public political trial - African civil society spokesmen have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, whose disastrous policies they blame for Africa's debt-ridden troubles. Amidst the impassioned testimonies and pleas for social justice, everyday life goes on in the courtyard. Full of colour, music and vitality. 'Bamako' combines gripping drama and sharp satire to create an inspirational, often humorous and sometimes moving insight into contemporary Africa. - Director:
- Abderrahmane Sissako
- Cast:
- Aïssa Maïga, Tiécoura Traoré, Maimouna Hélène Diarra
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Félicité (2017)Felisite
Félicité (Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu) is a proud, free-willed woman working as a singer in a bar in Kinshasa. Her life is thrown into turmoil when her 14-year-old son falls victim to an accident. To save him, she sets out on a breakneck race through the streets of electric Kinshasa - a world of music and dreams where she’ll cross paths with Tabu… - Director:
- Alain Gomis
- Cast:
- Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka
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