While we await the release of Ìfé the Movie, a cinema feat that has garnered massive anticipation in and out of the shores of Nigeria, let’s look back on some movies that have told the stories of LGBT Africans both real and fictional. The themes of the movies are universal – people trying to find acceptance and love in a society where their lives are in danger. Even in countries where homosexuality is legal, life isn’t exactly a bed of roses for LGBT folks.
From Egypt to South Africa, Cape Verde to Kenya, here are 15 0ther movies as curated by @queerafricans on Twitter that chronicle the stories of LGBT Africans both real and fictional.
- This story of a romance between two Kenyan women was shown at Cannes after being banned in Kenya and has gone ahead to garner universal acclaim. The movie currently has a 93% approval rating on Rotten tomatoes.
Rafiki (Kenya). “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. pic.twitter.com/W8UY1WeruL
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 8, 2018
2. Directed by Ishaya Bako and with cinematography by Clarence Peters, Braids on a Bald Head won the Best Short Film award at the 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Braids on a Bald Head (Nigeria). A hairdresser in Nigeria finds the strength to ask for better treatment in her marriage after an experience calls her sexuality into question. pic.twitter.com/ZXjVWMFmzd
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 8, 2018
3. Available on Amazon prime, the movie chronicles a lawyer’s battle to end the ostracization of queer people in Cameroon.
Coming Out of the Nkuta (Cameroon). Based on personal testimonies, Cameroon: Coming Out of the Nkuta portrays the daily struggle of young gays and lesbians in Cameroon. pic.twitter.com/hO9dhVF8yz
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 8, 2018
4. In a working-class neighbourhood in Casablanca, Abdellah, a homosexual teen, tries to build his own life within his big family, caught between an authoritarian mother and an older brother, who he adores.
Salvation Army (Morocco). In Casablanca, a gay teenager tries to build a life within his large family while dealing with his authoritarian mother and older brother. pic.twitter.com/Sp6zQJMJoc
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 19, 2018
5. A tough, tender tale of familial angst with careful attention to detail, My Brother the Devil is a strong debut from director Sally El Hosaini and presently holds a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
My Brother the Devil (Egypt). Two teenage brothers must face their own prejudices head on if they are to survive the perils of being British Arabs growing up on the streets of gangland London. pic.twitter.com/kzKL0zikAS
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 28, 2018
6. An invigorating documentary, Be Yourself is available to watch here ,
Être Soi-Même/Be Yourself (Cameroon). Three homosexuals (two men and one woman) from Montreal’s black communities recount the conflicts they faced, before they could assert themselves and prejudices that hindered their development after their release. pic.twitter.com/Bz2IGMQGny
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 28, 2018
7. This intimate documentary I am Gay and Muslim follows a number of young Moroccan gay men in their exploration of their religious and sexual identity.
I am Gay and Muslim (Morocco). Several Moroccan homosexual men explore their religious and sexual identity in this documentary. pic.twitter.com/yr1k86vAaF
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) December 6, 2018
8. The Pass does indeed look at the taboo subject of being an openly gay man in top-flight British football and indeed sport generally. It features Nigerian actor Arinze Kene.
The Pass (Nigeria). A romantic interaction between two young footballers profoundly affects one of them throughout the rest of his life and career. pic.twitter.com/UVfu1G5WFW
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) January 6, 2019
9. Directed by Akosua Owusu, This epistolary short film invites us into the unsettling life of a young Ghanaian man struggling to reconcile his love for his mother with his love for same-sex desire.
Reluctantly Queer (Ghana). This epistolary short film invites us into the unsettling life of a young Ghanaian man struggling to reconcile his love for his mother with his love for same-sex desire. pic.twitter.com/ogZudOPCYF
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 8, 2018
10. Released in 2016, the movie chronicles the story of 14-year-old Ibrahim and Rafa after they meet in a nightclub.
Hidden Away (Morocco). Fourteen-year-old Ibrahim meets Rafa in a nightclub, and the brief encounter has a profound effect on both of them. pic.twitter.com/rHm9ICUdiv
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) January 23, 2019
11. A documentary about the journey of Tatenda Ngwaru, an intersex activist who fled Zimbabwe to seek asylum in the United States.
She’s Not a Boy (Zimbabwe). Tatenda Ngwaru left Zimbabwe with sixty dollars and the hope that she would finally find a place she belonged. But for an asylum-seeking intersex woman, even a diverse, queer-friendly city like New York is a hard place to make home. pic.twitter.com/yRCY6Lb2Xo
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) June 17, 2020
12. Award-winning author Lauren Beukes (her novel, Zoo City, won the 2011 Arthur Clarke award) turns a filmic eye on guys who bravely present their glittering inner lady to the world, and ask to be crowned in a beauty pageant.
Glitterboys and Ganglands (South Africa). Follow “The Princess”, “The Mechanic” and “The Pre-Op”, running up the largest female impersonator pageant in Cape Town. pic.twitter.com/7djpFRMAcU
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 10, 2018
13. Directed by Maher Sabry, it is noted as being the first film to handle the subject of male homosexuality and the status of homosexuals in Egypt.
All My Life (Egypt). When Rami’s longtime lover Waleed leaves him to marry a woman and his best friends drift away, he comes face to face with the harsh realities of life as a gay man in Egypt. pic.twitter.com/ySg0BAoijg
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 8, 2018
14. Directed by Mohammed Camara, Dakan won the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Foreign Narrative Feature at LA film fest and has been described as the first West African feature film to deal with homosexuality.
Dakan/Destiny (Guinea). Telling the story of two young men struggling with their love for each other, it has been described as the first West African feature film to deal with homosexuality. pic.twitter.com/GGpM2xllfl
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) November 19, 2018
15. The story follows the exceptional life of 20-year-old Kelet, a Finnish Somali trans woman living in Helsinki who dreams of becoming a model in Vogue magazine.
Kelet (Somalia). A documentary by Susani Mahadura, the story follows the unique life of Kelet Ali, a young Finnish Somali trans woman living in Helsinki who dreams of becoming a model. Filmed between 2017 and 2019, it is the first Finnish film with a trans WOC as a protagonist. pic.twitter.com/ytmxOs7xsK
— LGBTQ Africans (@queerafricans) January 29, 2020
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