Portal:African cinema/DYK/5
Rafiki, a 2018 Kenyan film directed by Wanuri Kahiu was banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board due to its portrayal of homosexuality, which is illegal in Kenya. Kahiu refused to change the ending of the film as requested by the board, necessitating the ban. This stirred international outrage from LGBT rights supporters. Kahiu sued the government which resulted in a temporary lift of the ban by the Kenyan High Court, allowing the film to be screened for a limited time.
A significant milestone was achieved with the nomination of two African documentaries at the 2024 Academy awards: Les Filles d'Olfa (2023) by Kaouther Ben Hania from Tunisia, and Bobi Wine: The People's President (2022), co-directed by Ugandan filmmaker Moses Bwayo.
The historical drama Algerian film Chronicle of the Years of Fire by director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina won the Palme d'Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival and to this day, is the only Arab and African film to win the award, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It depicts the Algerian War of Independence as seen through the eyes of a peasant.