Best South African documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from South Africa.
Hearts & Minds (1995)
Hearts & Minds (1995)
In the final days of the pro-apartheid government, bigoted policeman and assassin Andries Fourie is assigned an undercover job. His task is to pose as a political progressive to infiltrate the African National Congress and assassinate one of the party’s leaders.
ZEF - The Story of Die Antwoord (2024)
ZEF - The Story of Die Antwoord (2024)
South African producer / director JON DAY spent the last 5 years making a documentary about the mysterious rap-rave group, DIE ANTWOORD. Art directed by surrealist photographer, ROGER BALLEN. Narrated by NINJA & ¥O-LANDI'S daughter, 16 JONES.
Jabulani Afrika (1958)
Jabulani Afrika (1958)
A BAFTA award nominated documentary featuring native African musicians and dancers.
Mandela (1996)
Mandela (1996)
A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.
Brothers in Blood: The Lions of Sabi Sand (2015)
Brothers in Blood: The Lions of Sabi Sand (2015)
This is a powerful documentary, filmed over a 16 year span, about the rise of a Coalition of six lions, branded The Mapogo Lions, and their takeover of the largest territory by a pride.
Pangolin: Kulu's Journey (2025)
Banking on Africa: The Bitcoin Revolution (2020)
Banking on Africa: The Bitcoin Revolution (2020)
As the world races to lead the way in blockchain technology, could Africa have an advantage? This documentary follows the journey of Bitcoin pioneers as the continent seeks to leverage cryptocurrency to leapfrog standing world economic powers.
Labirint (2017)
Labirint (2017)
Two halves split by the perseverance of a scorpion. Come on, feet.
Unhinged: Surviving Jo'burg (2010)
Unhinged: Surviving Jo'burg (2010)
Unhinged: Surviving Jo'burg is an honest, quirky and sometimes frenzied documentary about Johannesburg, South Africa's biggest city and the world's gateway to Southern Africa. With rapid narrative, dry humour, trivial factoids, insightful observations and a highly enjoyable soundtrack, the film tells a slice-of-city-life story. It's a personal video snapshot of today's city, providing a unique opportunity for viewers to get a glimpse inside a place that the world has a very fuzzy sense of. Written by Adrian Loveland
YOLO (2015)
YOLO (2015)
“Filmed in the remains of Soweto’s historic Sans Souci Cinema (1948-1998), YOLO is a makeshift structuralist mash-up created in collaboration with the Eat My Dust youth collective from the Kliptown district of Soweto, South Africa. Vibrating with mic checks and sine waves, resonating with an array of pre-roll sound—this is cause and effect shattered again and again, temporarily undone. O humanity, You Only Live Once!”—Ben Russell
Miners Shot Down (2014)
Miners Shot Down (2014)
In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. Using the point of view of the Marikana miners, Miners Shot Down follows the strike from day one, showing the courageous but isolated fight waged by a group of low-paid workers against the combined forces of the mining company Lonmin, the ANC government and their allies in the National Union of Mineworkers.
Africa Express Presents: EGOLI (2021)
Africa Express Presents: EGOLI (2021)
Chronicling the creative process, intimate collaborations and the fascinating characters behind Africa Express' EGOLI album, recorded in one week in Johannesburg South Africa in 2018 with BCUC, BLK JKS, Blue May, Damon Albarn, DJ Spoko, Dominowe, Faka, Georgia, Ghetts, Gruff Rhys, Infamous Boiz, Mr Jukes, The Mahotella Queens, Moonchild Sanelly, Morena Leraba, Muzi, Nick Zinner, Nonku Phiri, Otim Alpha, Phuzekhemisi, Poté, Remi Kabaka Jr, Sibot and Zolani Mahola.
Titanic: The Shocking Truth (2012)
Titanic: The Shocking Truth (2012)
TITANIC: THE SHOCKING TRUTH explores the conspiracy theory that the Titanic never sank to the bottom of the Atlantic/. Evidence is documented to support the theory that the Titanic and her sister ship, the Olympic were swapped and the weakened Olympic tragically sank. Were White Star Line and the British government responsible for possibly one of the greatest frauds and sea tragedies in living history?
My Father the Mover (2020)
My Father the Mover (2020)
Alatha's father calls himself a Mover. Using African dance moves, he helps kids in Khayelitsha township to transcend their hardship (drugs, poverty and abuse) and "find their superpowers." The Mover is also a single father. And while he has helped many kids, he still has difficulty getting his own daughter to find her own powers. But in a tender moment together, this is all about to change.
Thailand's Wild Cats (2021)
Thailand's Wild Cats (2021)
The mysterious jungles of Thailand are home to some of the rarest wild cats on earth - the Clouded Leopard, The Asian Leopard, The Indian Fishing Cat and the Indo Chinese Tiger. In one of the last truly wild corners of the world this extraordinary collection of secretive predators defend their last remaining stronghold. As their territories intertwine and continuously shift, these cats must cheat death on a daily basis if they are to survive and thrive out in these tangled lands
Madagascar: Africa's Galapagos (2019)
Madagascar: Africa's Galapagos (2019)
This film reveals some of Madagascar's secretive and rarely filmed inhabitants, from the apex predator, the fossa, to the aye aye – possibly the weirdest creature on earth.
Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What (2009)
Something Unknown Is Doing We Don't Know What (2009)
Is it possible to look into the future? Does mind over matter really exist? What is true about psychic healing? Is remote viewing real? Where is the boundary between real magical powers and fraud? Find out what scientists have to say.
Beats of the Antonov (2014)
Beats of the Antonov (2014)
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.
Shark Junction (2014)
Shark Junction (2014)
Roca Partida looks little more than a rocky outcrop inhabited by seabirds. But below the waterline, the steep mountainous walls are surrounded by the greatest concentrations of fish of any reef in the world.
Wild Coast Warriors (2024)
Wild Coast Warriors (2024)
For centuries, indigenous people have lived sustainably while resisting invaders on South Africa's Wild Coast. In this documentary about a David and Goliath court-case struggle against Shell, these communities succeeded in halting oil and gas exploration, winning ongoing protection for their ocean and culture.
Living With Lions (1999)
Living With Lions (1999)
Exclusive two-disc film documenting the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in the summer of 1997. The unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the team shows the preparations, the training, the fun, the team selection, the 'earthy' language, the bonding, the awesome task of playing and some shocking footage of injuries. Despite securing the series with wins in the first two tests, the Lions remained motivated by the prospect of a 3-0 whitewash, a feat never achieved against the Springboks throughout the century.
Soul of the Elephant (2015)
Soul of the Elephant (2015)
As the largest living terrestrial mammals, elephants are usually considered as survivors under even the most dire climatic conditions. But all too often, these majestic giants are killed illegally for their ivory tusks. So, every dead full-grown elephant, whose carcass or skeleton is found with the tusks still in it, is a symbol of paradise – an elephant allowed to die of natural causes instead of bullets, snares or poison.
Angola: The War (2017)
Angola: The War (2017)
For twenty-three years, five western nations, members of the Soviet bloc and two superpowers were locked into a war never formally declared. It all began in 1966. Once the Draft started, every able-bodied white South African male was called up for service.
Buddha in Africa (2019)
Buddha in Africa (2019)
Enock is six years old when he is taken to a Confucian Buddhist orphanage and given the Chinese name Alu. He becomes extremely skilled in acrobatics. Suddenly he must make a choice to reunite with the culture of Africa or to sign up for five years in order to study in Taiwan.
Hippo vs Croc (2014)
Hippo vs Croc (2014)
Hippos and crocs have lived side by side for millennia, but are they cozy bedfellows or arch-enemies? One is a hefty herbivore, the other is the most successful freshwater predator on the planet, so how do they manage to survive together in the same habitat? They each have a unique arsenal of attributes honed by centuries of evolution; muscle power, bite force and ferocious dentition give them the edge in their environment. But once a year, their peaceful semi-aquatic existence turns into a battle for survival.
Dinofish (2013)
Dinofish (2013)
Coelacanth (SEEL-uh-kanth): a large fish with limblike fins, armored scales and a tail that no other living fish possesses. This prehistoric fish was thought to have died out with the dinosaurs in the great extinction. It has laid hidden deep in our oceans undisturbed and undetected for 70 million yearsa true living fossil. The coelacanth is thought to be related to the creatures that grew legs, breathed air and came ashore nearly 400 million years ago.
Mother City (2024)
Mother City (2024)
Filmed over six years, Mother City follows the David versus Goliath battle as activists and domestic workers take on property power and politics in Cape Town – a city still disfigured by spatial apartheid 30 years into democracy. The story begins when the government sells a school, meant for affordable housing, to a private developer. Set against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world, this intimate and at times funny narrative documentary charts Nkosikhona (Face) Swartbooi leading a defiant war against government and property developers – on the streets, in the supreme court and in parliament.
Zulu Man in Japan (2020)
Zulu Man in Japan (2020)
In this documentary, South African rapper Nasty C hits the stage and streets of Tokyo, introducing himself to the city's sights, sounds and culture.