African Documentaries On Netflix That You Must Watch

After a day of ploughing through sites for news and fresh perspectives, a documentary can be a good thing to retire to. But selecting which documentary to watch can feel tedious. Often, documentary work out of and on Africa remains on the shelf unless it is the work of a well known filmmaker or actor. The film industry on the continent is expanding, helping many to tell stories often uncovered.

Damola Durosomo at okayafrica has selected documentaries to look out for on Netflix.

From the self-taught Senegalese filmmaker, to lessons about the politics of Zimbabwe, to experiences of transgender people in Uganda, the article collects some of the best running documentaries from the continent but isn't only restricted to the viewers there. For instance, you might know her talent, somber voice, her spirit and performance prowess, but do you Nina Simone once lived in Liberia? The very decision to move somewhere else tells a lot about what is going on in your life at the moment, and so is the life one lives while there. In the lineup you find What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015).

While you are sure to see doom and rarely gloom in the coverage of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the selected documentary Elephant’s Dream (2014) is about ordinary Congolese serving their country, and it captures the lives of the work of those in public service.

Egypt might still face the grip of a military man and be far from the country that young protesters sought in 2011, but these protests were still a defining moment in history. The Arab Spring has been the subject of all manner of commentaries and evaluations and it is still a very interesting phenomenon with each different lens deployed. The Square (2013), by Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaimfilm, captures the aspirations of a young Egypt.