Behold, there's an ocean walking behind a lake

#Vivariva#21stcenturyafricanfilms

''Power is the ability not just to tell the story of one person, but to make it the definitive story of that person''. In one of her speeches, novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie pointed out the dangers of the single story. In pre and post- Colonial era filmmakers tried to tell their side of their story and show that African people were not just objects of a great tragedy but active parts of this world taking control of their narrative. African film industry has come a long way. More and more movies are being produced in Africa by African filmmakers putting their film industry on the map. Thirsty for more, African filmmakers on the 21st century are making movies about love, gangsters, the remnants of colonialism in African societies and the search for identity. A taste of the brilliance of African filmmakers and directors that defined the change in the narrative of Africa is in the following list:

I Am Not a Witch(2017)Zambia

Directed by: Rungano Nyoni

In a remote Zambian village, a nine-year-old girl (Margaret Mulubwa) is accused of being a witch and given a stark choice: to accept her supernatural branding and live a tethered life as a sorceress, or to cut her ties with local tradition and be transformed into a goat that may be killed and eaten for supper.

The Guardian described it as a '' daringly satirical parable of magic and misogyny, superstition and social strictures that confirms Nyoni's promise as a film-maker of fiercely independent vision, with a bright future ahead.''

Kati Kati(2016) Kenya

Directed by : Mbithi Masya

Swahili for “in-between”, kati kati refers to the film’s strange desert purgatory where a young woman Kaleche (Nyokabi Gethaiga) wakes with no recollection of what has happened to her.

Spirituality mendles with realism, the world is spinning fast and individual soul-searching becomes a need.

Five Fingers For Marseilles(2018) South Africa

Directed by: Michael Matthews

A highwayman who had a rough upbringing returns home to discover that the oppressed have become the oppressors

A dive into post-colonial era. This South- African western explores the ''what's next'' question and points out that power can make you forget

The Delivery Boy(2018) Nigeria

Directed by: Adekunle Adejuyigbe

A runaway, teenage, suicide bomber and his newfound ally, a young prostitute, must rely on each other to survive the night while searching for answers to the terrible secrets that made them who they are.

Delivery boy gives us a glimpse into the life and struggles kids in Nigeria go through but that's not the whole story. The young characters navigate their lives through these difficulties and try to make something out of it. They make important decisions and take control of their narrative

Rafiki(2018) Kenya

Directed by: Wanuri Kahiu

"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.

Wanuri Kahiu's brilliance strikes again, after ''Pumzi''(2010), a futuristic film about nature and our duty to protect it, Rafiki(''friend'' in Swahili) walks us through the colourful streets of Nairobi and its not so colourful attitude towards homosexuality.

Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You(2019) Lesotho

Directed by: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese

The wastelands and crowded streets of an African country are traversed by a woman bearing a wooden cross on her back. She is followed by sellers, beggars and passersby, outraged voices, pity and curious glances. Parallel to her, among a herd of sheep, a lamb toddles its way from the far away mountains into the heart of the city, only to find itself dangling, skinned and headless, on a butcher’s shoulder. In the meantime, under the scorching sun, in a roofless house, a woman is persistently knitting a garment, unwinding a thread coiled over her son’s face.

‘Mother, I Am Suffocating. This is My Last Film About You’ is a symbolic social-political voyage of a society, spiralling between religion, identity and collective memory. “I saw in you what they saw, mother. You deserve your war”.

Upcoming Nollywood films

Oloture(2019) Nigeria

La Femme Anjola(2020)