You might be surprised to learn that a lot of movies are either entirely or partially filmed in Africa. We know about the movies like Hotel Rwanda and Mandela with obvious titles, but let’s talk about some not so obvious movies. Africa is a beautiful, magnificent continent and has hundreds of locations to film movies. The culture is rich, the people are rich, the food is rich, and now the movie scene is rich (,Nollywood)! These movies will inspire you to go to Africa, revisit Africa, or book a trip to parts you’ve never been to before. If you know any other interesting movies shot in Africa that will go down in history, leave us a comment!
15. ,Black Girl(1966)
This movie is in French.
Black Girl is known as the first feature film made by an African, Ousmane Sembène. It follows Diouana (Mbissine Thérèse Diop), a young woman from Senegal, who lives as a nanny and maid to a young French bureaucrat (Robert Fontaine) along with his wife (Anne-Marie Jelinek). She is so mistreated that she plans to escape.
White supremacy is all up and through this movie as it showcases the daily cruelties of that era. I love that you feel as if you are that “Black girl” in the small apartment not only trying to escape your actual surroundings, but the brutality you are facing within your own identity. The sad thing about it is she is looking to find a better life abroad, only to be mistreated by her employees there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnN5Scc3ldY
14. ,The Gods Must Be Crazy(1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGpvpuNNWPk
A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises chaos among a peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods. This movie was filmed in Tsumkwe, Namibia, as well as in Botswana and is a comedy.
It is said that Jamie Uys, the 63-year-old South African director, spent three months across Africa’s Kalahari Desert searching for the right Bushman to play the leading role in his film. He found N!Xau (pronounced En (click) ow) in Botswana. En had only seen one other white man in his lifetime and agreed to fly off in Uys’ plane to star in the film!
The Gods Must Be Crazy is currently the longest running movie now in New York first-run. Since 1981, the film has earned more than $90 million worldwide, including almost $40 million in Japan alone, as well as $11 million in the United States! The film cost $5 million to make.
13. Cry Freedom (1987)
Cry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. The film was mostly shot in Zimbabwe and even during that time there was much political unrest. The film revolves around the real-life events involving Black activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington) and his friend Donald Woods (Kevin Kline). It was a film that was screened mostly in limited cinematic release and nominated for multiple awards, including Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song! It also won a number of awards including those from the Berlin International Film Festival and the British Academy Film Awards!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaNcxKOD2_o
12. Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PPSIwe7sb8
Gorilla in the Mist was filmed in the jungles of Rwanda and based on a true story. It features, Sigourney Weaver as a world-famous primatologist, Dian Fossey, who gave up her work as a physical therapist for 13 years. She devoted her life to studying mountain gorillas before she was murdered in her sleep in 1985.
The film focuses around her and her work. She was constantly threatened by the local tribe of poachers who slaughter the gorillas and sell their limbs to tourists. The natives also kidnap baby gorillas for shipment to overseas zoos. Even the government bureaucrats side with the traders and tribesmen who are bringing desperately needed funds to a poverty-stricken area.
11. The Power of One (1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_2FNpN14PI
Who doesn’t love a good Morgan Freeman movie? He stars alongside Stephen Dorff who plays a young boy who is an English orphan constantly harassed at his boarding school by Afrikaners who hate the English as much as the Black people there. His nanny decides to take him to a Zulu medicine man, a German pianist, and a prisoner who also teaches him how to box. Of course, now empowered by these three men, he actually ends up as a mediator between the Black tribes and the races in South Africa. Your typical good against evil, lone warrior, help from the all mighty elders feel. It’s a coming of age story with political drama and based on the semi-autobiographical novel The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.
10. Malcolm X(1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4sEvhYeVE
This movie is a favorite of mine. Malcolm X was mostly filmed in the United States, however the real Mecca scenes were filmed in Saudi Arabia, since only an Islamic crew was allowed into the city. There were also scenes when Malcolm X visited Egypt where he worshiped at the Mohammed Ali Mosque (Alabaster Mosque) in Cairo. The epilogue was filmed at the Phamkamani Combines School in Soweto South Africa where Nelson Mandela spoke the closing lines as well as Alexandra, Johannesburg.
Malcolm X was Spike Lee’s sixth movie.
It’s a 202 minute, continent-hopping epic, boasting a superbly charismatic, Oscar-nominated performance by Denzel Washington as the eponymous activist and orator.– The Guardian
This movie starts from Malcolm X’s younger days, to the time he spent in jail where he found himself as a Muslim, and then as a public activist. This entire movie had a full dynamic cast and did extremely well in theaters. It brought in $48million with a budget of $33million and was the first major Black-authored studio film of its kind!
Denzel Washington absolutely owned his role as Malcolm X, it was definitely made for him. This movie was super engaging in my opinion, and I might have to make this a throwback movie night soon!
9. Cry the Beloved Country (1995)
Cry the Beloved Country was filmed in South Africa and is another movie made during the times following the recently abolished apartheid system. Another movie adapted from a book, it is about two men, one peaceful and the other privileged and powerful. They both deal with tragedy and somehow become friends.
It is said the movie is pretty much taken right from the book. If you aren’t aware of these times in South Africa, it was seriously divided. Whites lived in beautifully-constructed mansions with beautifully -groomed gardens. While the Black people were forced to a life of crime and living in not so beautiful conditions. Everyone is afraid of each other. Everyone feels it’s oppressive influence.
The first is a Black pastor, Reverend Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones), who has left behind his poor community to make the journey in search of his son. James Jarvis (Richard Harris), is a white land owner, who has come to Johannesburg to bury his only child who was shot by three young Black men. Each are forced to abandon their candor and confront the reality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0i5S__Ns_Y
8. The Lion King (1994)
I am just going to assume if you don’t know The Lion King by now, you live under a rock or have never been in society. Even if you haven’t seen this movie, you have heard of it. This movie changed the Disney game! Only a few shots were done in Kenya and the rest was shot on a stage in Playa Vista (California). This masterpiece of an animation is about a young lion cub, Simba, who struggles to find his place in nature’s “circle of life” and follow in the “paw prints” of his King father, Mufasa. After his evil uncle, Scar convinces Simba that he is responsible for his father’s death and urges him to run far away from the Pride Lands, he runs into two friends. Over time, Simba is enjoying his life without the responsibilities but with the heavy feeling of his past. This was the first Disney animated feature populated solely by animals; even “Bambi.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY7xBISLBIA
Filmmakers have said that the story of The Lion King was inspired by the lives of Joseph and Moses, from the Bible, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The other story is of Sundiata Keita/Mansa Musa, known as the Lion of Mali, Sundiata who was the founder of the Malian Empire; the largest kingdom in West Africa.
Did you know that Hell’s Gate National Park was the inspiration for The Lions King?
7. Invictus (1995)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZY8c_a_dlQ
Invictus is based on a true story around the events before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup while Nelson Mandela campaigned for South Africa to host the event to reunite the country from the apartheid that had ended. It was located in the southernmost part, where a lot of other popular movies were made like Blood Diamond and Lord of War. Some of the most prominent scenes of the film were shot in Johannesburg; the biggest city in South Africa. A city named Pretoria was not a primary location for the film, but a crucial one. Where Francois and Mandela met for the first time was shot in the offices of the Union Buildings, which serve as the seat of the government. No other movie had been shot there before Invictus!
The film was directed by Clint Eastwood, and stars Morgan Freeman who played President Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon who played Francois Pienaar, captain of the rugby team.
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, and in a way that little else does. – Nelson Mandela
6. Gladiator(2000)
Gladiator was filmed in three different places; Morocco, Malta, and England. Although the original placement was obviously Rome, they reconstructed the look of Ancient Rome. A 52-foot high fragment of the first tier of the arena was built, measuring about one-third of the circumference of the original Colosseum, the rest of the arena was computer graphics.
Gladiator takes place in AD 180 following the general Maximus (Russel Crowe) who becomes a slave and trained as a gladiator. Maximus is out for revenge in this movie and makes some unlikely friends like Juba (Djimon Hounsou). Some people even wished there was a sequel made with these two.
Gladiator was filmed near Ouarzazate, a desert city in southwestern Morocco, known as the “door of the desert.” Atlas Film Studios is 322,000- square-feet, considered to be one of the biggest studios in the world. Any biblical or historical popular movie you have seen was more than likely filmed here; “Noah”, “The Passion of the Christ,” Kingdom of Heaven,” etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owK1qxDselE
This movie gives us an immersed look into what it as like to be in those times. The
gladiator contests did often reconstruct famous battles or scenes using characters from history or legends. Animals, such as tigers, were often used in arenas, where gladiators might fight each other and animals.
5. The Last King of Scotland (2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QAaRrqtbaM
The Last King of Scotland was based on the life story of Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. Nicholas Garrigan (James Mccoy) graduates from the University of Edinburgh, and begins doing missionary work at a clinic run by Dr. David Merrit and his wife. Garrigan meets General Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), who invites him to become his physician. However, Garrigan finds himself trapped in Idi Amin’s brutal and murderous arrogance which becomes a fight for survival.
The Last King of Scotland was filmed in Uganda with the support of the Ugandan people, its government and current President Yoweri Museveni. The locals who were in the movie were going about their usual activities adding to the films authenticity.
It is an adaptation of Giles Foden’s novel about Idi Amin from the point of view of the Scottish doctor. It has been super criticized for not accurately portraying the real horrors of his reign and that there were up to half a million lives lost during that time.
4. Tears of the Sun (2005)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orrWSBajlGU
Tears of the Sun was not filmed in Africa, but a lot of jungle parts in Hawaii, however the story takes place in Africa.
Bruce Willis stars as Lt. A.K. Waters, a loyal veteran officer of a Navy S.E.A.L unit. He is sent to rescue Dr. Lena Kendricks, an American citizen by marriage who was caught in the middle of civil unrest in Nigeria after a military coup. A new military leader, a Muslim Fulani comes in to start “ethnic cleansing of Christian Igbos” in the village. Waters finds himself conflicted at having to choose between following orders to get the doctor home or help citizens who the doctor refuses to abandon; wanting to get them help to a nearby border.
I have to point out the problematic view of these kinds of movies portraying Africa as a “savage” place in need of “colonization”, “Christianity” and “rescuing”. Have you ever noticed the protagonists are always “white saviors” who are out to save the dying African population?
These characterizations and images clearly resonate in this movie. As my beloved readers, I will always make sure I tell what I feel and let you base your opinions on your own. Nigeria is more than “Fulanis and Igbos.” There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria and I believe the writers and producers didn’t even bother to visit Africa but jus googled whatever stereotype they could find and threw it in the movie. I am tired of seeing the dehumanization of Africa and Africans. If you have seen this movie, watch out for certain metaphors like the “white doves” flying away from the village after the white priest was beheaded or corny quotes such as “God already left Africa.”
3. District 9 (2009)
District 9 was filmed in Soweto in South Africa. The location that portrays District 9 was a poverty stricken neighborhood where people were being forced to relocate to government subsidized housing. Several scenes were shot at the Ponte building.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BjWEn5yvmw
The movie is about aliens that arrived on Earth thirty years ago to find refuge from their dying planet. They were quickly separated from humans in a South African area called District 9. The aliens are managed by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens’ welfare but do anything to master their advanced technology! A company field agent (Sharlto Copley) contracts a mysterious virus that alters his DNA, forcing him to hide in District 9.
Know that this movie was based on the tensions between the native South Africans and Zimbabwean refugees as well as the actual relocation of over 60,000 residents of District 6 in Cape Town in the 1970s.
2. Captain America: Civil War(2016)
Another movie you probably thought was filmed in Africa or at least rumored to be was Captain America: Civil War. There is a scene in the movie where Wanda mistakenly destroys a building in the opening scene in Lagos, Nigeria. Captain America, Black Widow, Falcon, and Wanda were chasing Brock Rumlow/Crossbones and his team of mercenaries, as they had obtained a bioweapon and fled to Lagos with it.
It was actually filmed in Atlanta, GA, in the U.S., and at the central avenue in Puerto Ricos financial district known as ” La Milla de Oro”. The neighborhood was transformed into a market scene for “Captain America: The Civil War.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5QESUEx7dI
1. Black Panther(2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxWvtMOGAhw
Very little of Black Panther was actually filmed in Africa, however, there sure were some great shots that took place in Uganda, South Africa and Zambia! It was mostly filmed in Atlanta, GA, as most Marvel movies are, and brought in about $90 million to Georgia’s economy.
Black Panther, a Marvel Comic turned movie, follows the after events of Captain America: Civil War. Prince T’Challa returns home to his tech savvy fictional African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new king. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne. Black Panther teams up with members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, and a CIA agent to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Black Panther was the first movie to be filmed at Tyler Perry Studios sound stages as well as the High Museum of Art and Atlanta’s City Hall.
For our Black people who hardly ever see this type of representation in film with an African-American director, and a predominantly Black cast, we were overjoyed. This movie did better than any other Marvel movie in its time, showing everyone across the world that Black excellence is real, people want to see it, and that we show up for our people! In fact, Black Panther became the first Marvel movie to win an Oscar and the first superhero movie nominated for Best Picture! It opened to a much-higher-than-anticipated $201.7 million that opening weekend. Black Panther flew to $1.3 million worldwide when all was said and done, and its domestic total of $700 million made it the highest-grossing film domestically of 2018 .
