Best African history movies
A curated collection of popular history movies from Africa.
The Message - Arabic Cut (1976)
The Message - Arabic Cut (1976)
The Arabic Cut of the Message. This epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.
Blood and Glory (2016)
Blood and Glory (2016)
Set in 1901, this period epic follows Willem Morkel, a Boer family man whose wife and son are murdered during the Anglo-Boer War. Captured as a prisoner of war, Willem must survive incarceration in the notorious St. Helena concentration camp and defeat the ruthless Colonel Swannell, at his own game—Rugby
Adieu Bonaparte (1985)
Adieu Bonaparte (1985)
This big-budget historical epic from acclaimed Egyptian director Youssef Chahine features a crazed turn by Patrice Chereau as Napoleon Bonaparte. The film, an Egyptian-French co-production, deals with Napoleon's occupation of Alexandria and its effect on a typical Egyptian family. Michel Piccoli leads the cast as a general in Napoleon's army who tentatively befriends a local poet.
Jamila, the Algerian (1958)
Jamila, the Algerian (1958)
Djamila, a young Algerian woman living with her brother Hadi and her uncle Mustafa in the Casbah district of Algiers under the French occupation of Algeria, sees the full extent of injustice, tyranny and cruelty on his compatriots by French soldiers. Jamila's nationalist spirit will be strengthened when French forces invade her university to arrest her classmate Amina who commits suicide by ingesting poison. Shortly after the prominent Algerian guerrilla leader Youssef takes refuge with her, she realizes that her uncle Mustafa is part of this network of anti-colonial rebel fighters. Her uncle linked her to the National Liberation Front (FLN). A series of events illustrate Jamila's participation in resistance operations against the occupier before she was finally captured and tortured. Finally, despite the efforts of her French lawyer, Jamila is sentenced to death...
Oh Islam (1961)
Oh Islam (1961)
Set in the 14th century. Under their leader Timur, the Tartar hordes invade the Middle East and take over areas as widespread as Persia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, and Syria. A lowly woman from a harem (Lubna Aziz) rises to lead the Egyptians against the invaders.
The Bullet is Still in My Pocket (1974)
The Bullet is Still in My Pocket (1974)
Mohamed is a soldier who finds himself in Gaza after the defeat in the 1967 War. He returns to his native village feeling broken and depressed after witnessing the deaths of his fellow soldiers. He still loves Fatima but her father wants her to marry Abbas who exploits the farmers and eventually rapes her.
Shangani Patrol (1970)
Shangani Patrol (1970)
Set in the First Matabele War in what was then Rhodesia; a scouting group from the British South African Company are chasing the Ndebele king Lobengula when they are ambushed by a massive Ndebele forced and must take a desperate last stand.
Wall of Heroism (1998)
Wall of Heroism (1998)
A representation of the lives of a group of officers and soldiers, portraying their intertwined fates and the tragedies they have to witness, both on the battlefield and at home.
Army of the Sun (1973)
Army of the Sun (1973)
This documentary tries to capture the fresh sense of triumph in the eyes of the Egyptian soldiers after the 1973 war with Israel.
Khalid ibn el Walid (1958)
Khalid ibn el Walid (1958)
The story of Khalid Ibn Al-Walid (592-642) the greatest military leader in the dawn of Islam during the life of prophet Muhammad and his caliphs Abu Bakr and Omar.
A Woman Shook the Throne of Egypt (1995)
A Woman Shook the Throne of Egypt (1995)
King Farouk finds himself enraged to carry out the British orders to appoint Mustafa El-Nahas as head of the ministry. During his journey to Qassas, he gets injured in a collision. He learns about the doctor Yusuf Rashad and his wife Noha. He admires women and follows her to work in the palace as a writer. , Especially after the husband is commissioned to form the Iron Guard, through which is discovered both the officer Istahter Mustafa Kemal and officer Anwar Sadat. Noha is separated from her husband and expelled by the king. She becomes a mistress for Mustafa Kemal. Calling for standing against the king, and working to form a secret cell with the Free Officers who help them to save the revolution from the dangers.
The Road to Eilat (1994)
The Road to Eilat (1994)
In 1969, a group of Egyptian frogmen target and destroy two Israeli vessels in the port of Eilat during the War of Attrition.
A Man in Our House (1961)
A Man in Our House (1961)
A Man in Our House is a 1961 Egyptian film about the resistance to British rule in Egypt which ended in the exile of King Farouk in 1954 and the rise to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser.
One Second (2021)
One Second (2021)
The story follows a young man who gets to know a girl and causes her many problems. But when he's exposed to an accident, his life takes a drastic turn.
Shafiqa and Metwally (1978)
Shafiqa and Metwally (1978)
The authorities summon many young men for forced labor in the Suez Canal, so Metwally leaves his sister Shafiqa alone with their old grandfather, whereupon Shafiqa is forced to succumb to the temptations of Diab, the district chief's son. As their sinful relationship is revealed, she is forced to leave for Asyut, where she becomes the mistress of Al Tarabishi, the supplier of slaves.
Days of El Sadat (2001)
Days of El Sadat (2001)
A biopic depicting the life of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, following his early life, his political and military achievements, and his assassination during the Cairo annual victory parade.
The Eloquent Peasant (1970)
The Eloquent Peasant (1970)
Based on one of the major literary texts survived from the Middle Kingdom, the classical period of Egyptian literature, The Eloquent Peasant is a combination of a morality/folk tale and a poem. The events are set between 2160 and 2025 BC. When the peasant Khun-anup and his donkey stumble upon the lands of the noble Rensi, the peasant’s goods are confiscated and he’s unjustly accused of theft. The peasant petitions Rensi who is so taken by the peasant’s eloquence that he report his astonishing discovery to the king. The king realises the peasant has been wronged but delays judgement so as to he can hear more of his eloquence. The peasant makes a total of nine petitions until finally, his goods are returned.
The Visual Bible: Matthew (1993)
The Visual Bible: Matthew (1993)
The only dramatization using the actual scriptures...word for word from the New International Version (NIV). In Israel, then known as Judea of the Roman Empire, Nazarene Jesus Christ travels around the country with His disciples preaching to the people about God and salvation of their souls.
Winter of Discontent (2013)
Winter of Discontent (2013)
Amr is a 35 year old man who wakes up one day to a very different Egypt. Amr rarely leaves home as he works from his place designing software. It is January 25, 2011 and Amr starts the day with news of protests all over Cairo and marches leading to Tahrir square. Something tells him that these protests will lead to major political change. Farah, a woman in her early 30’s, is a news anchor on Egyptian television. The news Farah gives her audience is very different from the news presented online or on international news channels.
The Emigrant (1994)
The Emigrant (1994)
The biblical tale of Joseph is told from an Egyptian perspective in this interesting character study. In this film, Joseph is called Ram. Ram, tired of his family's backward superstitious life, and tired of being picked on by his brothers, wants to go to Egypt to study agriculture. His brothers travel with him across Sinai, but then suddenly sell him to Ozir, an Egyptian who works for a Theban military leader, Amihar. Amihar is impressed by Ram's drive and personal charm and so grants Ram some desolate land outside the capital. Ram soon finds himself a pawn in the political and sexual games between Amihar and his wife Simihit, a high priestess of the Cult of Amun.
Nasser 56 (1996)
Nasser 56 (1996)
Nasser 56 is a 1996 Egyptian historical film directed by Mohamed Fadel, starring Ahmed Zaki. The film focuses on the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt's second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the subsequent invasion of Egypt by Israel, the United Kingdom, and France.
Jail Caesar (2012)
Jail Caesar (2012)
The early life of Roman ruler Julius Caesar as told in three working prisons in South Africa, the UK and Canada. A small group of professional actors is joined by a cast of real-life inmates to tell the story of one of history's foremost personalities.
Nagi El-Ali (1992)
Nagi El-Ali (1992)
After the assassination of the Palestinian artist Naji Al-Ali in London in 1987, the film flashes back to the stops that he went through in his life, starting from his displacement with his family to Lebanon, to his work in Kuwait, to his return to Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war.
El Jaïda (2017)
El Jaïda (2017)
Four women meet at Dar Joued on the eve of Independence. With different ages and social conditions, they are condemned to live together under the authority and injustice of their jailer: "El Jaida". They will share memories of the outside world, joy, emotions and distress of their daily lives.
Mr. Kingstreet's War (1973)
Mr. Kingstreet's War (1973)
A couple sets up an African game preserve, only to have British and Italian armies fight over the waterholes.
Return My Heart (1957)
Return My Heart (1957)
In Egypt forties and before the 14th of July revolution in 1952, a poor family lives in a prince's palace where the father works as a gardener. The family has two children Ali and Hassan. Ali grows up liking the prince's daughter who loves him too. Now grown ups, they realize how impossible this love story is. Joining the army, Ali fights in Palestine while the brother joins the police and is part of the King's guards. Ali gets back from Palestine and joins the secret military movement that will soon rule Egypt, The Free Officers. The revolution starts and the Free Officers are now in charge, putting Ali against his brother as a guard for the king and also against his lover, the prince's daughter as the revolution will confiscate all her family's wealth.
Sunset and Sunrise (1970)
Sunset and Sunrise (1970)
In the wake of the Cairo Fire, Essam feels guilty for betraying his friend Samir by messing around with his wife Madiha. Essam decides to take revenge on Madiha's father who pressured him to marry her to avoid a scandal.
Gamal Abdel Nasser (1998)
Gamal Abdel Nasser (1998)
The biography of the iconic leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, from his birth to igniting the revolution to the defeat of 67 and his disagreement with Abdel Hakim Amer, then his planning for the War of Attrition and his sudden death that stunned the world in 1970.