The Best About Africa Movies on Prime Video

What it's about: Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.

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

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 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: A fearsome 19th century bandit, Cobra Verde cuts a swath through Brazil until he arrives at the sugar plantation of Don Octávio Countinho. Not knowing that his new guest is the notorious bandit and impressed by his ruthless ways, Don Octávio hires Cobra Verde to oversee his slaves. But when Cobra Verde impregnates Don Octávio’s three daughters, the incensed plantation owner exiles the outlaw to Africa where he is expected to reopen the slave trade. Following his trans-Atlantic journey, Cobra Verde exploits tribal conflicts to commandeer an abandoned fortress and whips an army of naked warriors into a frenzied bloodlust as he vies for survival.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Shout Factory TV & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Fandor, Shout Factory TV & 1 other) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & Prime Video).

What it's about: True story of Ashraf Marwan, who was President Nasser's son-in-law and special adviser and confidant to his successor Anwar Sadat - while simultaneously Israeli Intelligence's most precious asset of the 20th century. Based on NYT bestselling book 'The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel' by Uri Bar-Joseph.

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

What it's about: Deals with the phenomenon of sexual harassment in Egypt. Film depicts the moving story of three women Atfguen in some way or another to address the disturbing fact, the phenomenon can not be overlooked in the Egyptian and Arab street and the suffering of almost daily exposure to a sexual harassment despite their differences.

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

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 (SnagFilms), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & 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: A documentary focusing on the life of dot-com entrepreneur Josh Harris, and his exploits over the last decade.

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

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 $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Tribeca Short List) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 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 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 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 & 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: Debra Winger, Oris Erhuero and Idris Elba star in this drama framed by the Rwandan genocide.

Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO & Prime Video), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 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 (HBO & Prime Video), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).

What it's about: A half-striped zebra is blamed for the drought and leaves his herd in search of his missing stripes. He is joined on his quest by an overprotective wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich; they defeat the tyrannical leopard and save his herd.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Vudu), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Prime Video).

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 (Shout Factory TV, SnagFilms & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video, Shout Factory TV & Dove Channel), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

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 stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video & Kanopy) & rent or buy from $2.99 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 & Realeyz) & rent or buy from $0.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: Inspector Rizzo in Napoli gets a message from a policeman from South Africa who wants to meet him. Immediately before this meeting the south African policeman is killed. Dying he shows Rizzo a picture of his little son Bodo. Rizzo travels to Johannesburg to find out what the policeman was working on and to find Bodo.

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: 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 & IMDb TV), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (Google Play, Prime Video & 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 $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & 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 (Tubi) & stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video).

What it's about: In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.

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

What it's about: His Big White Self is a 2006 documentary film made by Nick Broomfield. It is a follow up to his 1991 film The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife.

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

What it's about: From the award-winning Director Nick Broomfield, The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife portrays the sinister and comic sides of Eugene Terre'Blanche, leader of the neo-Nazi AWB Afrikaner Party in South Africa.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (SnagFilms & Tubi), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 1 service (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 watch free online (IMDb TV), 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: 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 stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: The title says it all. There's a mix up involving stolen diamonds which Ernest has (naturally) made into a yo-yo and given to his would be girlfriend, Rene. But Rene wants a man of action, and doesn't think that Ernest fits the bill. After the bad guys come looking for the stolen diamonds and kidnap Rene, all of her fantasies come true as Ernest has to go to Africa to rescue her.

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 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Microsoft).

What it's about: Mercenary John Seeger is one of the best in the business. John and his crew battle some soldiers on Galmoral Island in Southern Africa as they're trying to rescue the French Ambassador -- there's a coup going on. Some of John's soldiers unload their machine guns into the Ambassador and his family, blowing the mission and getting his best friend Radio Jones killed. He heads back to the US and visits Radio's wife Shondra to tells her the news, and then promises that he'll take care of her and her son Eddie. But shortly after he makes that vow, Shondra and Eddie get kidnapped.

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

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: 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: 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), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $7.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: John Baxter (Giuliano Gemma) is a freewheeling trader of goods in Africa with a pet chimpanzee and one dream: to save enough money to buy a gas station in Detroit. Ursula Andress is Madeleine Cooper, the lady of mystery he runs into as she flees from the hunter played by Jack Palance.

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: 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), stream on a popular subscription service (Prime Video) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A biological experiment goes bad, this time releasing a gaggle of mutated great white sharks with a taste for human flesh. Soon enough, shark expert Nick West is on the case, leading a crew to study them and eventually bring them back into captivity. West's plans hit a snag, however, when Australian shark hunter Roy Bishop is called in to wipe out the fishy menace.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (PopcornFlix) & stream on a popular subscription 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: 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: 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).

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: 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 2 services (iTunes & 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), stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Epix) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (Prime Video).

What it's about: A white jungle goddess is protected by a fierce killer gorilla.

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: Follows Bradley - only the third American coach to manage a foreign team - his wife, Lindsay, his staff and his players. In gaining access to the training camps and providing in-depth coverage of the Pharaohs' games in Africa, the filmmakers document the team's personal and professional struggles to keep their eyes on the prize of getting to the World Cup while living in and representing a country in turmoil.

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: Louis Gossett Jr., Richard Karn, and Amy Locane star in this supernatural horror tale about a mummy with a heart that bears a power beyond that of our world. When the mummy attacks archaeologist Dr. Trelawny, his colleagues have to trace the source of the ghoul's power and find a way to stop it.

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

What it's about: Filmed on location in South Africa, a retelling of H. Rider Haggard's classic novel "King Solomon's Mines," featuring the adventurer who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones.

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

What it's about: Massive earthquakes open the Arabian tectonic plate, resulting in unstable weather and freezing temperatures that will be unsurvivable by nightfall. Attempting to reach safety, a vacationing family in Egypt must battle the rapidly cooling temperatures that usher in a new Ice Age, covering the Sphinx, Pyramids, and Sahara Desert with mountains of snow.

Where to Watch: Available to watch free online (Tubi & 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: Based on Sax Rohmer's cult novels "Sumuru", the futuristic fantasy take you to an Earth colony in the far future in which woman rule and men are used to propagate the race and work in the mines..

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

What it's about: How do white South Africans deal with their fears of crime and violence? Like crocodiles, some survive without evolving, living with their fears. Others make fear their friend and evolve in ways you'd never imagine.

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