griggs's - African August 2025: A Whole Continent Projected List

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An American woman doctor comes to Tanzania to work at a hospital for the mentally disturbed, with her Tanzanian lover. There, she meets a sometimes catatonic patient, Samahe (Amandina Lihamba / Zainabu Bafadhili), who seems to be in communication with another reality.

In their confrontation with their individual and collective pasts, Dr. Asira (Barbara O) and Samehe are bound by fears and half remembered images of unbearable pain. Only through the spirit of Maangamizi, can the women resume their lives with an understanding of the ancestors and their eternal presence in a world of cruelty, hatred and death. It is a story that seeks to reclaim the connection between Africa and her Diaspora, and one that dares to represent the histories of two continents as it peels away layers upon layers of pain to bring healing of the soul.

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Tragedy and fate intervene as two Nigerians try to better the lives of their families. Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) is a film about two people's quest for what they believe will be a better life on foreign shores.

After Mofe (Jude Akuwudike) loses his family and Rosa (Temiloluwa Ami-Williams) fails to deliver on a promise, their travel plans collapse, forcing them to reconsider living abroad. As time passes and wounds heal, they learn that the future they desperately seek can be built at home.

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The title of the Burkina Faso-produced Yaaba translates to 'Grandmother.' That character, played by Fatimata Sanga, has been accused of witchcraft by her village. In fact, Sanga is a kindly, serene old woman, perhaps the wisest person in the community.

Only Bila (Noufou Ouedraogo), a troubled and troublesome young boy, is respectful of her. Though he isn't related to her he addresses her as grandmother. When Bila's cousin, Nopoko (Roukietou Barry), falls ill, a medicine man insists that Yaaba has stolen the girl's soul. Though it is she who undergoes a grueling journey to find a medicine that will cure the girl, the villagers are still convinced that she is a sorceress of some sort. Only after Yaaba's death do we discover why her neighbors fear and despise her.

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Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada (Mame Bineta Sane), 17, is in love with Souleiman (Traore), a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man.

One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. A few days after the departure of the boys, a fire devastates Ada's wedding party, while a mysterious fever starts to spread. Could Souleiman be back for Ada?

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"The Burial of Kojo" follows the story of Esi (Cynthia Dankwa), as she recounts her childhood and the tumultuous relationship between her father, Kojo (Joseph Otsiman) and her uncle, Kwabena (Kobina Amissah-Sam).

After Kojo goes missing on an illegal mining expedition with Kwabena, Esi embarks on a magical adventure to rescue her father.

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The plot is based on a short story by Mia Couto 'O Dia Em Que Explodiu Mabata Bata' (The Day Mabata Bata Exploded). Azarias (Emílio Bila), a young orphaned shepherd has to tend the oxen flock of his uncle Raul (Horácio Guiamba), although he dreams of going to school.

The most beautiful animal, Mabata Bata, is destined to pay the dowry of Raul's fiancée. However, the ox leaves the herd and steps on a mine left behind by fighters in the civil war. Afraid of his uncle's wrath, Azarias flees into the forest with the remaining animals and magical events occur. His grandmother and uncle set out to rescue him and convince him to return.

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According to popular belief, a child born during an eclipse possesses incredible destructive power. The baby must spend a whole night in a stable, among the cows and be trampled to death by them or survive to become a man like the others. A woman saves him from the cows and changes his fate.

Kapila will survive. But because of the curse of his birth, he possesses a power that no one has mastered.

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Mghila Mountain, Tunisia, November 2015. When a group of jihadists attack two young shepherds, Achraf, 13 years old, is forced to bring a gruesome message to the villagers.

Traumatized and trying not to lose his mind, Achraf needs to stand strong, confronted with the helplessness of his elders, themselves abandoned by the authorities. Inspired by real events and deeply rooted in a ruthless social context, 'Red Path' is a dreamlike journey into the wounded psyche of a child and his incredible ability to overcome trauma.

An Ethiopian boy whose mother recently died is placed by his father with relatives, together with a sheep. His host wants him to sacrifice his lamb for the upcoming religious feast, and the boy decides to travel with his sheep to a mountain top he can see in the distance.

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Despite a bum leg, 25-year-old Grigris (Souleymane Démé) has hopes of becoming a professional dancer, making some extra cash putting his killer moves to good use on the dance floor of his local club every weekend.

His dreams are tested when his step-father falls critically ill and he is forced to risk his future by smuggling oil to pay the hospital bills. When he befriends Mimi (Anaïs Monory), a beautiful but damaged prostitute, the two will try to start a new life together. But as bad decisions begin to catch up with them, they will have to run for their lives. Their pasts, however, are never far behind, bringing them to a perilous climax.

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Director Nabil Ayouch (Razzia, Horses of God) drew on his own experience opening a youth cultural center in Casablanca for this story of a former rapper named Anas who takes a job teaching hip hop in an underprivileged neighborhood.

Despite differences in identity, religion, and politics, Anas encourages his students to bond together and break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to follow their passion and express themselves through the arts. Featuring a dynamic ensemble of first-time actors, many of them students of the real-life cultural center where the film was shot, Casablanca Beats is a vibrant and inspiring coming-of-age hip hop musical with a decidedly feminist edge. Mixing intimate yet high stakes drama with infectious musical sequences, the film transports audiences to a lively and contemporary Casablanca, far from the clichés about the Arab world. Morocco’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards® offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the liberating power of self-expression.