Film
Enjoy Poverty
How Euro-Americans - directly and indirectly - interact with the Congolese: only as victims.
Africa on Film: Out of Africa
Our film critic, Allison Swank, rewatches the 1985 film. Her verdict: "Out of Africa" is a media nostalgia piece for a time when whites ruled in Africa.
Obrigado, Pelé
A short film imagines what if Pele, who can claim to be the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), scored his final international goal against Argentina, Brazil's greatest rival.
African Child
The comedy "Get him to the Greek" is a forgettable vehicle for Russell Brand, except for the spoof music video "African Child" opening the film.
Coming to America
How much damage, if any, did "Coming to America" do to a generation of young Americans' views of Africa and Africans?
Adopting Africa
We should talk about American celebrities' obsession with adopting African babies. The mostly unfunny comedian Pauly Shore is not our guide.
Africa on Film: The “Tarzan” Films
The "Tarzan" films, which dates back to the beginnings of Hollywood, are a perfect visual representation of colonialism in Africa.
After the Bulldozers
Recommended: a short film about the fate of 10,000 residents displaced after a thriving market in Lagos, Nigeria.
Introducing our new series: Africa on Film
Over the next few months, Allison Swank will commence a new weekly series on popular (and not-so-popular) films in the United States 'about' Africa.
Boers and Bantus
Vintage clips, from 1961, of Nelson Mandela, ZK Matthews, Helen Joseph, among others, on a Dutch TV program talking liberation from white supremacy.
Rankin does South Africa
British fashion photographer Rankin sets out on 'his own personal journey' to understand South Africa. The result is actually quite good.
The Tribeca Film Festival
Previewing film festivals in the United States and their African offerings is exhausting: there’s little to excite, or the same familiar tropes and themes repeat.
Illegal or Dead
Sorious Samura joined African migrants trying to make it to Europe for menial jobs and loneliness.
Martin Scorcese namechecks Ousmane Sembene
Scorcese not only restores prints of African cinema classics, he also counts Ousmane Sembene as one of cinema's greatest directors.
The Story of a Coloured Mother
The film "Shirley Adams" is the story of a coloured mother in Mitchell's Plain in Cape Town, struggling to care for her recently disabled son.
You can now trust Nigerians
Recently advertising and the movies in the West have have been hard on Nigerians. Even when they mean well.
That’s Not Rugby
Don't expect "Invictus" to break from the "rainbow nation" narrative despite that symbolism's sell buy date having long expired.
Aliens in Johannesburg
'District 9' comments on contemporary politics about domination, race and immigration, especially in South Africa.