The Best About Africa Movies on Prime Video

What it's about: At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The Square, a new film by Jehane Noujaim (Control Room; Rafea: Solar Mama), looks at the hard realities faced day-to-day by people working to build Egypt’s new democracy. Catapulting us into the action spread across 2011 and 2012, the film provides a kaleidoscopic, visceral experience of the struggle. Cairo’s Tahrir Square is the heart and soul of the film, which follows several young activists. Armed with values, determination, music, humor, an abundance of social media, and sheer obstinacy, they know that the thorny path to democracy only began with Hosni Mubarek’s fall. The life-and-death struggle between the people and the power of the state is still playing out.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Prime Video & Fandor) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: Russian and British submarines with nuclear missiles on board both vanish from sight without a trace. England and Russia both blame each other as James Bond tries to solve the riddle of the disappearing ships. But the KGB also has an agent on the case.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Prime Video & 2 others).

What it's about: The true story of Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets had some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, Kanopy & 2 others) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV, Plex & Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & CBS All Access) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria and her relationship with her slave Davus, who is torn between his love for her and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, Komona a 14-year-old girl tells her unborn child growing inside her the story of her life since she has been at war. Everything started when she was abducted by the rebel army at the age of 12.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A French teacher in a small Algerian village during the Algerian War forms an unexpected bond with a dissident who is ordered to be turned in to the authorities.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A British multinational company seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but imprisoned opposition leader who is also critically ill and due for execution. Just when the team has performed a perfect rescue, the multinational does a deal with the vicious dictator leaving the mercenary band to escape under their own steam and exact revenge.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Fandor) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Three women seek justice due to the difficult daily situation which sexual harassment causes in the streets of Cairo, Egypt.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Joan Wilder is thrust back into a world of murder, chases, foreign intrigue... and love. This time out she's duped by a duplicitous Arab dignitary who brings her to the Middle East, ostensibly to write a book about his life. Of course he's up to no good, and Joan is just another pawn in his wicked game. But Jack Colton and his sidekick Ralph show up to help our intrepid heroine save the day.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: In the early to mid '90s, when the South African system of apartheid was in its death throes, four photographers - Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva - bonded by their friendship and a sense of purpose, worked together to chronicle the violence and upheaval leading up to the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela as president. Their work is risky and dangerous, potentially fatally so, as they thrust themselves into the middle of chaotic clashes between forces backed by the government (including Inkatha Zulu warriors) and those in support of Mandela's African National Congress.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Years ago, the young Five Fingers fought for the rural town of Marseilles against brutal police oppression. Now, after fleeing in disgrace, Tau, one of them, returns to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful life. When he finds the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: The sudden death of Michael Jackson sends a former King of Pop devotee — now a young imam — into a tailspin, in this tender and comedic film from Egyptian filmmaker Amr Salama.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Writer Harry Street reflects on his life as he lies dying from an infection while on safari in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Epix & Secrets of Cinema), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $2.00 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Recognized as Uganda’s first action film, Who Killed Captain Alex? is about the aftermath of a police raid in Kampala in which a police captain is killed.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Upon his father's sudden death, a talented medical student returns to his home village in Ghana to fight for his family's survival.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A group of young friends on a camping trip, deep in the South African countryside wake up to discover they have all swapped bodies.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex & Crackle), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: When bookseller Buzz cons Diana into thinking that his friend Stanley knows all there is to know about Africa, they are abducted and ordered to lead Diana and her henchmen to an African tribe in search of a fortune in jewels.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV & Shout Factory TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Shout Factory TV & Dove Channel) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: While James More is held captive by terrorists in Somalia, thousands of miles away on the Greenland Sea, his lover Danny Flinders prepares to dive herself in a submersible into the deep bottom of the ocean, tormented by the memories of their brief encounter in France and her inability to know his whereabouts.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Ever in search of adventure, explorer Allan Quatermain agrees to join the beautiful Jesse Huston on a mission to locate her archaeologist father, who has been abducted for his knowledge of the legendary mines of King Solomon. As the kidnappers, led by sinister German military officer Bockner, journey into the wilds of Africa, Allan and Jesse track the party and must contend with fierce natives and dangerous creatures, among other perils.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Follows five trekkers and a local Chagga guide to the top of Kilimanjaro, the largest freestanding mountain in the world. Along their journey this diverse group of trekkers encounter strange landscapes and endure harsh conditions as they travel through five climate zones ranging from the lower rainforest reaches of Kilimanjaro to the summit's arctic glaciers.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Drama based loosely on the final years of Kenya game warden and lion-raiser George Adamson's life. An unofficial sequel to 'Born Free' (1966) and 'Living Free' (1972), which also dramatised the life of Adamson, this film picks up the life of George (Richard Harris) on the African wildlife preserve he runs with the help of his brother Terrence (Ian Bannen). When drifter Tony Fitzjohn (John Michie) arrives to work for the old men he initially takes poorly to the task, almost savaged by a lion on his first day and on the verge of leaving when he hears that his predecessor was killed in a similar incident. The arrival of a lion cub that Fitzjohn must care for and raise changes everything. Soon he finds himself helping the brothers in their fight to save lions - and, ultimately, the park itself - from the poachers, soldiers and corrupt government officials that threaten them.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PlutoTV) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Found footage of an expedition into the Congo jungle where a team of explorers stumbles upon a colony of Dinosaurs.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: An idealistic British drama school teacher, Jodi Rutherford, persuades a cynical South African farmer to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine. In return Jodi undertakes to direct the annual concert on the Willemse farm. Jodi's interaction with the quirky small town citizens and the stubborn Kobus, teaches her that: "there is more to life than lights... camera... and action!"

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, PlutoTV & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & PlutoTV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (Vudu).

What it's about: For many generations people in the Omo Valley (tribal southwest Ethiopia) believed some children are cursed and that these 'cursed' children bring disease, drought and death to the tribe. The curse is called 'mingi' and mingi children are killed. Lale Labuko, a young educated man from the Kara tribe was 15 years old when he saw a child in his village killed and also learned that he had 2 older sisters he never knew who had been killed. He decided one day he would stop this horrific practice. Filmed over a five year period we follow Lale's journey along with the people of his tribe as they attempt to change an ancient practice.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: Yallah! Underground follows some of today’s most influential and progressive artists in Arab underground culture from 2009 to 2013 and documents their work, dreams and fears in a time of great change for Arab societies. In a region full of tension, young Arab artists in the Middle East have struggled for years to express themselves freely and to promote more liberal attitudes within their societies. During the Arab Spring, like many others of this new generation, local artists had high hopes for the future and took part in the protests. However, after years of turmoil and instability, young Arabs now have to challenge both old and new problems, being torn between feelings of disillusion and a vague hope for a better future.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: On a train crossing Tanzania, a rolling microcosm of East African society, we follow three main characters, reflecting on the strength to survive.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: A documentary that explores the life of one of the world's most populated cities from its streets. Shot in 2009-2012 (before and during the Egyptian revolution, and ending with the most recent presidential elections), the film explores the country's collective identity, inherent struggles, and the sentiments that lead through the historic changes taking place in Egypt today. For his third documentary, Egyptian/ American filmmaker Sherief Elkatsha rides through the congested streets alongside a diverse cast of characters-from taxi drivers to ambulances, from traffic cops to private citizens-capturing the unspoken codes of conduct, frustrations, humor, fatalism, and life-or-death decisions of driving in a city where the only rule is: there are no rules.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Africa, Europe - Europe and Africa: Surfers live differently on each continent and Africa marks a special place - as surfing is in many places at its very beginnings. 'Beyond - An African Surf Documentary' follows locals along the coast of Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia into their homes, visits their home surf spots and takes a look into their surfing lives. Three months of shooting culminated in a 111 minute long episodic journey on a continent, that has the potential to be the next big thing in surfing.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: A multinational expedition discovers a lost city beneath a pyramid, where they must stop the reawakened gods of ancient Egypt from initiating the apocalypse

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: For years, Doug Collins has been wading through a routine unsatisfying job and an increasingly miserable relationship. After his girlfriend moves out, Doug pushes himself to live a more fulfilling life starting with a trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Plex), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Hoopla) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: As a child in Burkina Faso, Yacouba was sent away from home to study the Qur'an, where he and his classmates were almost starving. The young boys would trek across miles of wilderness, only to fall and beg at a straw hut for meagre rations. It is from this harsh background that the young farmer became determined to develop techniques that would bring exhausted soil back into production. His efforts have outdone the work of the world's leading scientists and technological advances costing millions of pounds. They may also yet prove crucial to the future of the world's rapidly growing population and global food demands.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: The night before a local haunted house opens for Halloween, six friends sneak in for a few hours of fun. Soon after entering, they find themselves trapped inside with no way out.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The man called Obam struggles with the increasingly hostile forces facing each other in a colonial African country. The African natives want their land and lives back from the British colonists. Obam's motives are questioned by his own people, in particular his brother Kanda. With the help of his wife Renee and missionary Bruce Craig, will he be able to get things under control before the country self-destructs? Written by Greg Bruno

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Epix) & stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix).

What it's about: Out of Darkness is a full length three-part documentary by director Amadeuz Christ (Δ+), examining the untold history of African people, the African cultural contribution to the nations of the world, and the events that have contributed to the condition of African people today. Out of Darkness will explore the Nubian/Kushitic origins of Nile Valley Civilization, contact between Africa and the Americas since the times of antiquity, as well as the influence of the Moors in Europe leading to Europe’s intellectual Renaissance. In addition, the film will analyze the history of modern day racism, the concept of “white supremacy,” the impact of Hip Hop as a social movement, and the idea of nationhood. Out of Darkness is narrated by Prof. Kaba Kamene and co-stars Dr. Umar Johnson, Dr. Claud Anderson, Tim Wise, Prof. James Small, Dr. Joy DeGruy, Anthony Browder, Sabir Bey, Atlantis Browder, and Taj Tarik Bey.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: This movie's opening prologue states: "June 1942. As Rommel swept toward the Nile, the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal seemed inevitable. Italian and German advance units raced toward Alexandria. Mussolini had given explicit orders: The Italians must arrive first!"

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Englishmen fighting Nazis in Africa discover an exotic mystery woman living among the natives and enlist her aid in overcoming the Germans.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Epix), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A kelp-horn-blowing man seems to be deeply drawn to a very particular whale. This is the story of a love triangle between the titular Whale Caller, his beloved whale Sharisha, and Saluni, the village drunk who teaches him to open his heart to people again.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi, Plex & Vudu) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Dr. Horatio Kane has been kidnapped, and is being forced to create an army of martial artists who will help take over the world. His daughter, Kandy Kane, enlists the help of Steve Chase (and a few of his friends) to rescue her father before it's too late.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A CIA agent is sent to get Professor Braun before the KGB can seize him as the Prof's knowledge, together with a recently stolen diamond, could be used to make a laser cannon.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: An endocrinologist in a dysfunctional marriage with an aging, alcoholic wife journeys to Africa seeking a drug that will restore youth.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: South African crime/comedy movie. Forced to spend the night at a creepy old holiday resort, two wannabe gangsters run into trouble when, unpacking the car, their box of cash splits open, spilling a million bucks in eye-catching bundles all over the driveway

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Lonnie and Brian go on the run from the Cape Town underworld, after finding a box filled with cash and a valuable wrist watch. They steal a lucky fish that they use to barter with the gangsters.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: Returning home after fighting in Africa during World War II, a soldier with PTSD finds reintegrating with family life increasingly difficult as he relives the battle of Kasserine Pass.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: When saxophonist Mike Teller's brother Mackie is killed before being able to deliver $500,000 to mob boss Jack Fisher, Mike is arrested as an accomplice and thrown into prison for five years. Upon his release, he finds Fisher has kidnapped his wife, Lisa, believing Mike has the stolen drug money. With the help of Mackie's old Vietnam war buddy, Harry Crawford, Mike and Harry rescue Lisa, but now have to escape the clutches of the mob in Harry's remote cabin. Will Jack Fisher retrieve his money or will Mike get his revenge?

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).