Steven Markovitz

Tug of War

A coming-of-age political love story set in the final years of British colonial Zanzibar. Denge, a young freedom fighter meets Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the middle of the night as she is on her way to be married. Passion and revolution escalate.

Omen

Between Brussels, Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, Augure borrows from magic realism to paint a portrait of “undesirables” and “sorcerers” through the intertwined stories of protagonists of different genders and generations, confronted with the prejudice and suspicion of those around them.

The Colonel's Stray Dogs

In 1981, seven Libyan exiles formed the core opposition group to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Thirty years later, they are back to their country only to inherit the mess he left. The film is an intricate blend of rare first-hand accounts, propaganda archival material turned on its head, evocative cinematography and an untold history of a country.

Rafiki

Kena and Ziki long for something more. Despite the political rivalry between their families, the girls resist and remain close friends, supporting each other to pursue their dreams in a conservative society. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.

The Roundup

A Kasha is a universal offbeat love story set in a time of civil war - but the war is in Sudan and it is happening right now. We follow Adnan, an AK47-loving rebel, his long-suffering love interest, Lina, and the armydodging Absi, over a fateful 24 hours in a rebel-held area of Sudan.

Stories of Our Lives

Created by the members of a Nairobi-based arts collective — who have removed their names from the film for fear of reprisal — this anthology film that dramatizes true-life stories from Kenya’s oppressed LGBTQ community is both a labour of love and a bold act of militancy.

Beats of the Antonov

The story of the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan, showing how they deal with civil war. Traditionally music has always been part of daily life in these areas, but now, it has a new role in a society challenge by war.

African Metropolis

The vitality of the African city has provided local filmmakers with a rich array of stories for their films. African Metropolis presents six short films that examine the complexity of urban life in Abidjan, Cairo, Dakar, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi. They run the gamut of genres, but in all the central character is the city itself. A Jewish pensioner lives alone in a Johannesburg apartment, the last resident of an ever-changing city. In a Nairobi of the future, one man searches for the girl of his dreams. Dakar is the backdrop to an intimate conversation between two women. Abidjan once played host to the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In Cairo a musician sees the gap between rich and poor expand. And a final film confronts the perils of the poverty trap.

Homecoming

Kenyan Jim Chuchu’s short film casts a voyeur’s obsession with the girl next door, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, science fiction and fiction.

Berea

South African Vincent Moloi’s Berea is a compelling drama about the anxiety of an elderly gentleman disoriented by the radical urbanization of his neighbourhood.

Viva Riva!

Riva is a small time operator who has just returned to his hometown of Kinshasa, Congo after a decade away with a major score: a fortune in hijacked gasoline. Wads of cash in hand and out for a good time, Riva is soon entranced by beautiful night club denizen Nora, the kept woman of a local gangster.

State of Mind: Healing Trauma

A layered, engrossing and intriguing look at a national collective trauma and the ambitious initiative to try and heal the wounds.

Pumzi

A sci-fi film about futuristic Africa, 35 years after World War III, 'The Water War'.

The Abyss Boys

A coming-of-age tale of two boys trying to survive amidst rampant corruption and gang violence.