5 Best Movies from Gabon to Watch First

5 Essential Films from Gabon

Ranked native cinema in Gabon’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Dôlè

   2000

   In Libreville, five teenage boys left to fend for themselves scheme to rob the till of a popular lottery game to change their fortunes — a plan that quickly spins beyond their control. A vivid Gabonese coming-of-age drama.

2. 

   2. The Tam Tams Are Silent

   Les tam tams se sont tus · 1972

   A young sculptor struggling to find his place in a changing Gabon falls into a forbidden love with the youngest wife of his uncle, and the two are forced to flee when their affair is discovered. A pioneering Gabonese feature.

3. 

   3. Boxing Libreville

   2018

   In Libreville, a young boxer trains relentlessly by day and works as a nightclub bouncer by night, chasing his dream against the backdrop of a tense presidential election. A documentary portrait of ambition and a nation on edge.

4. 

   4. Djogo

   Les couilles de l'éléphant · 2001

   A lively Gabonese comedy following its hero through a series of misadventures. An early feature of the country's cinema.

5. 

   5. The African Who Wanted to Fly

   2016

   This documentary tells the extraordinary true story of Luc Bendza, a boy from a small Gabonese town who traveled to China as a teenager, mastered martial arts, and became a kung-fu movie star working alongside Jackie Chan's crew.