10 Best Movies from Cameroon to Watch First

10 Essential Films from Cameroon

Ranked native cinema in Cameroon’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Muna Moto

   1975

   In coastal Cameroon, two young lovers are kept apart by tradition when the orphaned suitor cannot afford the dowry demanded for his beloved's hand, forcing him to turn to a predatory uncle. A landmark of African cinema about custom, poverty, and desire.

2. 

   2. Pousse-pousse

   1976

   A hardworking Cameroonian cart-puller saving to buy a motorized version of his rig sees his dreams frustrated by the hefty dowry he owes his fiancée's family. A warm social comedy about tradition and ambition.

3. 

   3. Quartier Mozart

   1992

   In a bustling Cameroonian neighborhood, a schoolgirl is magically transformed into a man by a local sorceress, upending the games of love, power, and gossip on the block. Jean-Pierre Bekolo's inventive, playful debut.

4. 

   4. Clando

   1996

   A Cameroonian man reduced to driving an unlicensed taxi after political trouble is sent to Germany on an errand, where his encounters abroad slowly reawaken his sense of purpose. Jean-Marie Teno's drama about repression and resistance.

5. 

   5. Sisters in Law

   2005

   This documentary observes a determined female judge and prosecutor in a small Cameroonian town as they pursue cases of abuse, rape, and domestic violence, fighting to win justice for women in their community.

6. 

   6. The Fisherman's Diary

   2020

   Inspired by the story of Malala Yousafzai, a twelve-year-old girl in a Cameroonian fishing village where girls are not sent to school fights against her family and community for the right to an education. An uplifting drama.

7. O

   7. Our Daughter

   Notre fille · 1981

   An aging village chief steeped in tradition clashes bitterly with the daughter he once sent to be educated in France, who returns with Western manners and ideas he cannot accept. A Cameroonian comedy-drama about the gulf between generations.

8. 

   8. Le spectre de Boko Haram

   2023

   In the Far North of Cameroon, where Boko Haram's attacks have become a constant menace since 2014, this documentary follows children living in the shadow of violence and learning to carry on. A quietly powerful portrait.

9. 

   9. Aristotle's Plot

   1997

   A playful, self-reflexive Cameroonian satire that pits a die-hard fan of Hollywood action movies against an avant-garde filmmaker, staging a mischievous debate about what African cinema should be. Jean-Pierre Bekolo's genre-bending experiment.

10. 

    10. Nganù

    2023

    Urged by his village to channel his violent temper into military service, an abusive husband joins the army, where he is forced to confront the deep and painful roots of the rage that has ruled his life. A Cameroonian drama.