Great African cinema exists. It’s free. You just need to know where to look.
To mark Africa Day, Kevin Kriedemann, a longtime advocate for African cinema, has curated a watchlist of some of the finest films the continent has to offer, all free to stream on YouTube. We’re talking Oscar nominees, award winners from Berlin, Cannes and Sundance, spanning 15 countries. “These aren’t good African films,” he says. “They are good films. Period.”
With Showmax closing, Prime Video and Paramount pulling back from African content, and Netflix largely focused on Nigeria and South Africa, YouTube has quietly become the continent’s most important film platform. Yet even there, the best films are scattered across channels and easy to miss. “African content is better than it’s ever been,” he says. “But somehow there are fewer buyers for local content now, not more.”
He points out that even the big, Oscar-nominated African films like District 9, Timbuktu, Io Capitano and Hotel Rwanda currently aren’t available to stream in SA.
This Africa Day, there’s a continent of cinema waiting: free, on YouTube, and easier to find than ever.
Here are three acclaimed films Kriedemann recommends starting with:
Films
Goodbye Julia | Sudan
Set in Khartoum on the eve of South Sudan’s secession, Goodbye Julia follows a former northern singer seeking redemption after becoming implicated in the death of a southern man.
Quietly devastating and emotionally layered, the film unfolds through questions of guilt, class and political division, offering an intimate portrait of a country on the edge of transformation.
Winner of the Freedom Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes, it also became Sudan’s first-ever submission to the Academy Awards.
Nairobi Half Life | Kenya
A young aspiring actor arrives in Nairobi hoping to pursue his dreams, only to find himself drawn into the city’s criminal underworld.
Released in 2012, Nairobi Half Life remains a landmark in contemporary Kenyan cinema, it’s energetic, emotionally grounded and deeply attentive to the contradictions of urban life.
It is also one of the films that helped shift international attention toward East African filmmaking.
Supa Modo | Kenya
Heartbreaking and deeply imaginative, Supa Modo tells the story of a terminally ill child whose village comes together to help her live out her dream of becoming a superhero.
Rather than leaning into sentimentality, the film becomes something richer: a moving reflection on collective care, fantasy and the power of community.
Few films capture joy and grief with such tenderness.
DOCUMENTARIES
Here are six acclaimed documentaries Kriedemann recommends starting with:
Bobi Wine: The People’s President | Uganda
Part political documentary, part portrait of resistance, this Oscar-nominated film follows musician-turned-politician Bobi Wine as he challenges Uganda’s long-standing political establishment.
Urgent and deeply human, the documentary traces the cost of activism while exploring the intersection of music, protest and power.
Liyana | eSwatini
Blurring documentary and fantasy, Liyana follows a group of orphaned children in eSwatini as they collaboratively imagine and narrate a fictional heroine’s journey.
Visually inventive and emotionally resonant, the film asks what storytelling can offer in the face of loss and how imagination itself can become a form of survival.
It remains one of Southern Africa’s most celebrated documentaries.
Mama Africa | Guinea & South Africa
More than a music documentary, Mama Africa offers a portrait of the life and legacy of Miriam Makeba a singer, activist and one of the continent’s most globally recognised cultural figures.
Tracing her exile, artistry and political commitment, the film becomes an opportunity to revisit the life of an artist whose influence continues to echo far beyond music.
The Flood | Botswana
Set against the shifting ecosystems of the Okavango Delta, The Flood explores the delicate rhythms of one of Africa’s most remarkable landscapes.
Visually striking and meditative, the documentary reminds us that African storytelling extends beyond human narratives into ecology, movement and survival itself.
SHORT FILMS
To help change this, here are seven acclaimed short films Kriedemann recommends starting with:
Binta and the Great Idea | Senegal
Binta tells us about everyday life in her village, the importance of education for girls, and her father’s great idea to make the world a better place.
Oscar nominee: Best Live Action Short
Brotherhood | Tunisia
A Tunisian father is shaken when his son returns from fighting in Syria with a mysterious new wife.
Oscar nominee: Best Live Action Short
Butterfly | Algeria
Inspired by the true story of Alfred Nakache, a Jewish-Algerian swimmer who competed at the 1936 Olympics — in Nazi Germany.
Oscar nominee: Best Animated Short
Jakkals13 | South Africa
When a sniper’s hit goes wrong, he must rely on his deadbeat housemate.
Vimeo Staff Pick
Jonah | Tanzania
After two friends photograph a gigantic fish, Zanzibar becomes a tourist hotspot – but not like they dreamed.
Best Short Film, the Jury Special Award, and the Audience Award, Shots Young Director Awards at Cannes Lions
Last Night | Ghana
A married man gives in to temptation, with even worse consequences than his wife finding out.
• Official selection, Annecy
• 2 million views on Youtube
Youth | Egypt
A teenage girl is pushed to consider her own boundaries.
• Best Short Film Under 15m at Palm Springs
• Vimeo Staff Pick and Short of the Week
African cinema has always existed in abundance, even when access has not. This Africa Day, the invitation is simple: choose a country you’ve never visited, and press play.
* This watchlist was inspired by recommendations curated by film publicist and African cinema advocate Kevin Kriedemann. For more check out his Youtube playlist #AfricaMonthFilmChallenge or subscribe to his newsletter, Plot Twist Africa Substack,
