African Films for Your Safari Holidays

If you're lucky enough to have safari holidays on your agenda for the summer ahead, why not watch some of the best-known films to have come out of Africa? Due to the cagey tastes and risk aversion of distributors, the films on this list are largely big Hollywood films, but we've tried to include a handful of more obscure films too.

Tsotsi

Africa's only Academy Award winner so far deserves to be the first film on this list. Tsotsi was released in 2005 and was directed by Gavin Hood. The film came to the world's attention after winning that year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. While safari holidays will usually mean spending most of your time in a rural environment, Tsotsi is set in a slum outside Johannesburg and tells the story of a young car thief who steals more than he bargains for. The film features a great array of languages that foreign viewers are unlikely to have heard, including Tsotsitaal, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Setswana and Sesotho.

Blood Diamond

Many of the films that find success in the rest of the world unfortunately focus on the violence and economic problems of Africa, along with the manipulation of the country by foreign powers. Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou, is set during the turbulence of the Sierra Leone Civil War and depicts the role that the international diamond trade played in exacerbating the conflict.

The Constant Gardener

Set in Kenya, a country more likely to play host to safari holidays, the Constant Gardener was adapted from a John Le Carr? novel. The film similarly explores issues of malignant Western involvement in Africa and features some stunning cinematography.

From a Whisper

Another film for those heading to Kenya on safari holidays, this film won Best Picture at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2009. From a Whisper describes the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in 1998 on Kenyan victims and their families, although the film doesn't deal with the bombing itself.

Viva Riva!

This year's winner of the Best Picture award at the African Movie Academy Awards, Viva Riva! is a taut Congolese crime thriller directed by Djo Tunda Wa Munga. The film focuses on a gang war that begins following a fuel crisis in Congo. Much of the film's dialogue is in the Lingala language.

Namibia: the Struggle for Liberation

Namibia: the Struggle for Liberation is an epic 2007 film telling the tale of the Namibian struggle for independence during the South African occupation. The film was written and directed by Charles Burnett and stars Carl Lumbly and Danny Glover.

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