Thanks to Netflix, you can travel the world right from your couch. With the recent release of Netflix’s first original film Beast of No Nation, starring Idris Elba and young Ghanaian newcomer Abraham Attah, the on-demand Internet streaming platform continues to bridge the gap between cultures all over the world. Below, Patrick Peck of OkayAfrica.com compiled a list of 10 movies of the African Diaspora.
Beast of No Nation
Starring: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Opeyemi Fagbohungbe, and Richard Pepple
Beasts of No Nation is based on the 2005 Uzodinma Iweala novel, which follows a young boy in a West African nation who is recruited by a group of guerrilla soldiers. Golden Globe winner Idris Elba plays a ruthless warlord who orders him into becoming a young killer.
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Trevor Noah: African American
Starring: Trevor Noah
“In the 2013 special African American, Trevor offers his trademark brand of sarcastic and mocking commentary on a wide range of issues affecting both Africans and
African Americans. From hackneyed UNICEF ads about starving children to ignorant questions he’s been asked by Americans (‘How did you get to America?’ ‘Do you guys have waves in Africa?’ ‘Have you ever had AIDS?’) nothing and no one is safe.” —PPHalf of a Yellow Sun
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Onyeka Onwenu, Anika Noni Rose, Genevieve Nnaji, OC Ukeje and John Boyega
“Adapted from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best-selling historical melodrama, the film follows the events of the Biafran War (1967-1970) through the lives of twin sisters from a wealthy Nigerian family, and the very different trajectories they take as they become swept up in Nigeria’s civil war.” —AK
Mother of George
Directed by: Andrew Dosunmu
Starring: Danai Gurira, Isaach De Bankolé, Anthony Okungbowa, and Bukky Ajayi
“Mother of George centers on a newlywed Nigerian couple living in Brooklyn. The young wife Adenike (played by The Walking Dead star Danai Gurira) faces infertility issues, prompting her to make a shocking decision that could either save or destroy her family. —PP
October 1
Directed by: Kunle Afolayan
Starring: Sadiq Daba, Kehinde Bankole, David Bailie, Kayode Olaiya, Nick Rhys, Fabian Lojede, and Demola Adedoyin
“Combining a real-life historical timeline with a suspenseful, cat-and-mouse game, October 1 tells the story of a Nigerian police detective as he sets out to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders in a local community before the British flag is lowered and the Nigerian flag raised. The film had a whopping $2 million budget, an amount and production value that was essentially unheard of in Nollywood cinema.” —AK
Read more: OkayAfrica.com