African Films and TV Shows You Should Watch in November 2025

It’s an incredibly exciting time for African cinema as Akinola Davies’ My Father’s Shadow sweeps record-breaking nominations at the British Independent Film Awards, NBO Film Festival radicalizes film viewing for disadvantaged communities, as the El Gouna film festival just wrapped up in Egypt, and the Marrakech film festival is set to begin on November 28. 

In the meantime, here’s what to watch:

Southern Africa — By Tseliso Monaheng

Milisuthando (South Africa)

Milisuthando Bongela’s eponymous debut documentary returns to Southern Africa after a celebrated run on the international film festival circuit. Premiering at Sundance in 2023, Milisuthando has travelled widely, but its most meaningful journey may be this one – into homes, book clubs, and community spaces through Bongela’s self-distribution campaign. Bongela revisits her childhood in the former Republic of Transkei, once a “homeland” under apartheid, to examine how innocence and isolation shaped her understanding of race, love, and belonging. “I have to be careful about how I remember my memories,” she says in a press release, and that caution guides a film woven from archives, interviews, and intimate narration. Milisuthando invites its audience to sit with history’s contradictions, and to imagine new ways of being together. 

Where to watch: Milisuthando’s website

Unspoken War (South Africa)

Airing on M-Net and Showmax, this five-part documentary revisits South Africa’s undeclared conflict that happened between 1966 and 1989 across Angola, Namibia, and within the country itself. Directed by Nikki Comninos and produced by IdeaCandy, the team behind Steinheist and School Ties, the series pieces together a conflict long buried under secrecy. Through rare archival footage and deeply personal testimony, it gathers the voices of conscripts, SWAPO fighters, commanders, spies, and families still reckoning with the silence that followed. Unspoken War examines the psychological and moral aftershocks of a war many were never allowed to name. It’s a patient, unsettling study of how nations choose what to remember, and what they force their people to forget.

Where to watch: M-Net and Showmax

Finding Optel (South Africa)

Co-directed by siblings Mikayla Joy Brown (25) and Jesse Brown (29), Finding Optel is a whimsical detective story that follows teenager Claire Abrahams, who runs a lost-and-found service, as she searches for the community dog Optel. The quest forces her to confront her brother’s painful disappearance. Mikayla stars as Claire, supported by an ensemble cast including Oscar Petersen, Zenobia Kloppers, and Rodney ‘Rotas’ Goliath. Written from Mikayla’s creative writing studies and inspired by her Cape Flats childhood, the film captures community life through a lens full of warmth and humor. Its production design and cinematography offer a fresh, hopeful perspective on the Cape Flats beyond common depictions of hardship.

Where to watch:  Showmax

West Africa — By Nelson C.J.

3 Cold Dishes (Nigeria)

 In 3 Cold Dishes, the past comes back for a deadly bite. The story — directed by Oluseyi ‘Asurf’ Amuwa and Apolline Traoré, with production by Burna Boy — follows three women who were trafficked as young girls and emerged as powerful players in the precarious world of underground prostitution. They are driven, in a bid to accost and deal with the unflinching trauma of their past, to haunt and kill the men who sold them into sexual slavery. 

Already garnering rave reviews, 3 Cold Dishes is a staggeringly ambitious work spanning different parts of the continent and weaving a range of stories together for a poignant reflection on reclamation and the cost of revenge. The film stars Osas Ighodaro (The Smart Money Woman, Man Of God, Love, Lust & Other Things), Ruby Akubueze (Kasanova, Ijogbon, Orah), Maud Guerard (The Kiwi, The Fusion), and others.

Where to watch: Filmhouse Cinemas Nigeria, premiering November 7

King of Tema (Ghana)

Crime, love, and sacrifice drive the heart of King of Tema, a television series starring Fred Nii Amugi (Keteke, Gold Coast Lounge, Aloe Vera, Beasts of No Nation), Melvin Dain, Kingsley Yamoah and others, which follows the journey of a man who is forced to turn to a world of crime and deceit to save his dying mother. King of Tema is a gripping, high-stakes drama that examines power, class, and the desperate quest for an easy life.

Where to watch: Silverbird Accra Mall, from November 14

Queen Lateefah (Nigeria)

In Queen Lateefah, deceit and lies form the bedrock of a gripping yet hilarious story. The story follows Lateefah Adeleke, who misrepresents her humble background in pursuit of high status and social clout. Queen Lateefah takes a sufficiently explored Nollywood trope into new territories, using modern social signifiers to hilariously examine the drive to succeed and appear as one truly isn’t. The film stars Wumi Toriola (Farmer’s Bride, Owambe Thieves, Crossroads), Kunle Remi (Ijakumo, Muri & Ko, A Naija Christmas), and others.

Where to watch: Kava 

North Africa - By Amuna Wagner

Al Sada Al Afadel (Egypt)

Up and coming Egyptian director Karim El Shenawy follows up this year’s successful run of Ramadan show Lam Shamseya and heartwarming comedy The Tale of Daye’s Family with Al Sada Al Afadel. The comedy is said to be absurd, but worth watching. Set in a rural Egyptian village during the Eid Al Fitr holiday, it tells the story of the Abu Al-Fadl family’s descent into chaos after the death of their patriarch, Galal. The eldest son, Tarek, finds himself responsible for everything, while Hegazy returns from Cairo to discover that dealing with his patients is much easier than dealing with his own family. Matters get worse when a mysterious man called Samir Italia appears and demands a large sum of money from the family. 

Where to watch: Egyptian cinemas 

Hepta: The Last Debate (Egypt)

Hepta: The Last Debate is the sequel to Hepta: The Last Lecture, based on a bestselling novel of the same title. In part two, love is explored in the context of society becoming dependent on technologies, which challenge human interaction and influence how we approach relationships. Featuring a stellar cast including Menna Shalabi, Karim Fahmy, and Salma Abu Deif, this movie is a collection of intertwined stories that reflect on the meaning of love and how to overcome its difficulties. Written by Mohamed Sadeq, with a screenplay by Mohamed Galal and Mohamed Sadeq in collaboration with Norhan Abu Bakr, and directed by Hadi El-Bagoury.

Where to watch: Egyptian cinemas 

Spring Came on Laughing (Egypt)

Egyptian director and writer Noha Adel’s debut feature Spring Came on Laughing is a collection of five short stories set in spring, “the cruelest season.” It was the only Egyptian film in competition at the 2024 edition of the Cairo Film Festival and is now screening at the independent Zawya Cinema. Flowers play an important role in Adel’s portrayal of a group of Egyptian women dealing with unfolding drama and unraveling secrets, so the film had to be shot in spring when bougainvillea, a specific type of red rose, and the pink lily are in full bloom. 

Where to watch: Zawya Cinema in Cairo 

East Africa - By Paula Adhis

Nafsi (Kenya)

Reuben Odanga’s 2021 debut feature is a landmark in Kenyan cinema, exploring the fragile bonds of female friendship. In this emotional drama, a woman asks her best friend to be her surrogate, but the decision slowly tears their friendship apart. Best known for Selina and Mo-Faya, you can catch this Odanga classic before it leaves Netflix on November 17.

Where to watch: Netflix until November 17.

Safari (Kenya/Nigeria)

Kenya's Reuben Odanga teams up with Nigerian director Obi Emelonye for Safari, a sweeping cross-cultural drama filmed across Kenya and Nigeria. The film follows the disillusioned wife of a Nigerian senator who travels to Kenya for a much-needed escape. However, her life quickly pivots from a serene getaway when she falls for a beach boy accused of murdering a British tourist.

Where to watch: In Nigerian cinemas from November 21; Kenyan release to be announced.

Cards on the Table: A Christmas Movie (Kenya)

Set in Nairobi in 1992, this Christmas romantic comedy follows two broke exes who come up with a desperate plan to rob the ticket money at a big holiday event. But once they get there, their messy breakup drama gets in the way. Created by Shirleen Wangari and directed by Victor Gatonye, the film is a fun and nostalgic take on love, survival, and second chances, all with a festive twist.

Where to watch: Premieres November 29 at Century Cinemax, Garden City Mall, Nairobi.