The African Films and Shows To Watch This Month

In our must-watch list this month, there's a Tribeca-winning short film from Egypt, a high-profile docuseries from South Africa, and a boxing drama set against the backdrop of the illegal mining and ensuing violence in DR Congo. Check out the full list below.

Hadoota (Egypt)

Hadoota (Ahmed Helmy) lost his parents during childhood. Raised by a foster family, he grew up to become a thug who never confronted his trauma. When he cannot remember the location of a witness he kidnapped, he resorts to a hypnosis therapist (Amina Khalil) to help him access his memory in a comic battle against time that forces him to finally confront himself. Written by Ahmed Abdel Rahman and directed by Mazen Ashraf.

Where to watch: North African cinemas starting November 12

Stars and Vows: Anele and Buzza (South Africa)

Anele Mdoda has been a high profile broadcaster for well over a decade, equally adored and despised by a broad spectrum of her South African audience. Her marriage to businessman and prince Buzza James (real name Bonelela Mgudlwa) was sure to raise more than a few heads, and Netflix capitalized on that excitement in the form of a four-part docuseries, created by Nomzamo Mbatha among others. Expect the glitz, the glamour, the nerves, and the family drama that is bound to come with such a high-profile occasion. 

Where to watch: Netflix

Loving Itohan (Nigeria)

In this soapy romance, a woman finds herself torn between two loves. Led and produced by Nancy Isime (Blood Sisters, Shanty Town), Loving Itohan is a story of forbidden love, of hard choices and dangerous desires. The film follows newly weds Itohan (Isime) and Somto (Uzor Arukwe) whose life together seems to be unfolding without a hitch until Somto’s younger brother Obi (Obehi Aburime) comes face to face with a desire for Itohan that he cannot confess and one Itohan dare not accept. Set in the background of a richly developed contemporary Lagos, Loving Itohan takes a classic Nollywood story and asks hard questions about the pursuit of happiness and the cost of getting the love you want.

Where to watch: Nigerian theatres

32B (Egypt) 

Directed by Mohamed Taher and written by Haitham Dabbour, 32B is a 19-minute short film set in Cairo in 2005. It tells the story of a clueless, single father, played by Mohamed Mamdouh, who embarks on a painfully awkward and unusual shopping trip after learning his teenage daughter needs a bra. It won in the category of Best Short Film at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, marking the first time an Egyptian or Arabic-language film has received this honor.

Where to watch: MBC Shahid 

Fight Like a Girl (DR Congo)

Filmed entirely in Goma and North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fight like a Girl is about a young woman who escapes forced labour at an illegal mine, finding community inside a women’s boxing club created for survivors of war and violence. Starring Ama Qamata and Hakeem Kae-Kazim, the film also features women who have lived through the horrors of war. 

Where to watch: Ster-Kinekor cinemas in South Africa

Mother City (South Africa)

Cinematic and journalistically hard hitting, Mother City is a narrative documentary feature that goes into the heart of an extraordinary group of activists in Cape Town. The film tracks six years’ worth of the fight against spatial justice and affordable housing in one of the world’s most unequal societies. Narrated by Nkosikhona Swartbooi, the story offers an intimate, grassroots perspective of the battles that happen in the suburbs, the townships and the courtrooms. 

Where to Watch: Vimeo

Agency For The Dead (Ghana)

In this hilarious comic-thriller, two women find themselves in a financial bind that forces them to fake supernatural encounters. This escapade takes them on a range of wild and  unpredictable adventures including accidentally resurrecting spirits and amassing a rotation of visiting ghosts. Agency For The Dead stars two of Ghana’s legendary actors Yvonne Okoro and Joselyn Dumas with support from Mawuli Gavor, George Quaye, Nana Dwamena Atuobi-Omari and others. Agency For The Dead has a convincing story, a strong sense of Ghanaian humor and the guarantee of a rib-cracking cinematic experience.

Where to watch: Silverbird Accra.

Reporting by Amuna Wagner, Nelson C.J. and Tseliso Monaheng.