The scope of winning entries reflects a snapshot of the remarkable work that has been coming out from the continent in the last decade, particularly within the documentary format.
This year, African documentaries were at the forefront of global cinema, highlighting stories — both personal and political — that demonstrated uncommon courage and remarkable bravery.
Filmmakers boldly spoke truth to power, demanded accountability from self, family and institutions and reconstructed the modes and forms in which documentaries are regularly presented. What’s more, they are now being recognised for their efforts.
Bobi Wine: The People’s President, a profile of Ugandan pop star turned opposition leader, took home the organisation’s top prize with best feature documentary, beating out nine other nominees from around the world.
At the same event, Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir won best director for her family documentary The Mother of All Lies while Tunisian Oscar hopeful Kaouther Ben Hania took home the best writing prize for her piercing docufiction experiment, Four Daughters.
The Africa Report presents 10 of the year’s richest and most unforgettable stories.
10. Music is My Life — Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo — South Africa
For the first time in history, South Africa’s selection committee has submitted a documentary to represent the country at the Oscars in the international feature film category. Music is My Life is directed by Mpumi ‘Supa’ Mbele and celebrates the life and career of the late music icon Joseph Shabalala, founder of the Grammy-winning band, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The film chronicles the complex history of isicathamiya music and places Shabalala’s legacy in context.
9. Calvinia — South Africa/Switzerland
Rudi van der Merwe’s Calvinia is named for the small town in which he grew up and to which he returns years later to compose this lyrical and potent personal essay composed of family vignettes, social media chats and the weight of his own memories. Even when there has clearly been some progress, the town appears like a time capsule, a legacy of apartheid stuck somewhere in the past. Van der Merwe is committed to probing the injustices that have since powered this conservative enclave.
8. 1001 Days — South Africa/UK
In Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg, two-thirds of the women are survivors of sexual or domestic abuse. In a heartwarming example of community intervention, a group of local mothers – some, survivors themselves – embark on a quietly radical mission. In this intimate and feminist documentary, directors Kethiwe Ngcobo and Chloe White follow a trio of empathetic health workers as they provide much needed support to new mothers in their community through the first 1001 days of birth.
7. The Cemetery of Cinema — Senegal/Guinea/France/Saudi Arabia
For his feature debut, Guinean filmmaker Thierno Souleymane Diallo invites audiences along on his search for Mouramani, a 1953 film by Mamadou Touré since lost that is believed to be the first film ever made in Guinea. Diallo’s search takes him from Guinea to Paris, France. Equipped with his recording equipment he kickstarts a conversation about Guinea’s film history and the tragedy of abandoned film archives. He also goes on a protest that calls attention to the perilous state of cinema in his country.
6. The Mother of All Lies — Morocco/Egypt/Saudi Arabia/Qatar
In The Mother of All Lies, Asmae El Moudir uses handmade figurines and models to create a replica of the Casablanca neighbourhood where she grew up in order her to reconnect with her past. Searching for some truth within the tangled web of lies in her family history, El Moudir fuses personal and national history as she reflects on the 1981 Bread Riots, drawing out connections to modern Morocco.
5. Bobi Wine: The People’s President — Uganda/UK/US
Directed by Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo, this film follows the attempt by superstar musician-turned-political opposition leader Bobi Wine (real name Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) to topple the repressive regime of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni during the 2021 general elections. Acquired by National Geographic following its 2022 premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Bobi Wine: The People’s President trails Wine and his wife Barbie over several years, culminating in his unsuccessful 2021 bid.
4. Between the Rains — Kenya/US
Co-directed by Moses Thuranira and Andrew H. Brown, Between the Rains is a ravishing and clear-eyed peep at the direct effects of climate change on a pastoral Turkana community in the mountains of rural Kenya. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June where it won the best documentary feature prize plus another one for its breathtaking cinematography. “We wanted to create a film we could take to America, but also play in East Africa and have local audiences feel like this is their story,” Brown tells The Africa Report.
3. Le Spectre de Boko Haram — Cameroon/France
Cyrielle Raingou won the Tiger Award — a prize previously claimed by Christopher Nolan — at the international film festival in Rotterdam for her debut feature film, Le Spectre de Boko Haram (The Ghost of Boko Haram). It is a deeply sensitive account of the impact of the terror group Boko Haram as seen through the eyes of some of the child victims. Raingou spent the better part of the year touring the international festival circuit as her film’s celebration of innocence amidst tragedy struck a nerve, speaking to audiences around the world.
2. Milisuthando — South Africa/Colombia
“I knew I was telling a story that had not been told before, in this way and by someone from my generation,” Milisuthando Bongela tells The Africa Report about her eponymous debut feature, which took the world by storm at the Sundance film festival where it premiered in January. The film, striking and almost radical in its approach to form, details Bongela’s unique experience growing up in the Transkei, a rural, segregated region established in 1976 as an apartheid-era experiment.
1. Four Daughters — Tunisia/Saudi Arabia/France/Germany
In this intriguing docufiction experiment director Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actors to re-enact passages from the real lives of a Tunisian family broken apart when two daughters leave home to fight for the Islamic State in Syria. The two missing daughters are played by actors, and they share scenes with the actual daughters who stayed behind. The result is an occasionally muddled but deeply powerful excavation of about family bonds, trauma memory and release.
Understand Africa’s tomorrow… today
We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need.