4 Best Movies from Benin to Watch First

4 Essential Films from Benin

Ranked native cinema in Benin’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Sous le signe du vaudou

   1974

   When a young man neglects the ritual offerings owed to the voodoo spirits, he brings their wrath down upon himself. One of Benin's earliest feature films, steeped in the beliefs of its culture.

2. 

   2. L'orage africain: un continent sous influence

   2017

   Fed up with watching his country's rich resources enrich only foreign corporations, an African president boldly nationalizes all the means of production built by outsiders — and braces for the backlash. A pointed political drama about sovereignty and neocolonialism.

3. 

   3. In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven

   2018

   Actor Djimon Hounsou returns to his native Benin to explore the origins and living traditions of voodoo, reconnecting with his own roots in this personal documentary and directorial debut.

4. 

   4. Yatin

   2002

   Billed as Benin's first Christian feature film and a pioneer of West African video cinema, this drama follows its characters through suffering and faith. An early landmark of Beninese filmmaking.