6 Best Movies from Guinea Bissau to Watch First

6 Essential Films from Guinea Bissau

Ranked native cinema in Guinea Bissau’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. The Blue Eyes of Yonta

   Udju Azul di Yonta · 1992

   In post-independence Guinea-Bissau, a lively young woman secretly pines for an older war hero oblivious to her feelings, while a shy young man pines for her — a chain of unrequited love set against a nation's disillusioned hopes. Flora Gomes's warm, wry drama.

2. 

   2. Mortu Nega

   1988

   During Guinea-Bissau's war of independence, a devoted woman treks across the country to find her fighter husband, and when peace finally comes, the couple must learn to live in the difficult new nation they helped create. A landmark of Lusophone African cinema.

3. 

   3. Xime

   1994

   In a village in colonial Guinea-Bissau on the eve of the independence struggle, an aging patriarch clashes with his sons and the changing world around them. A drama of tradition and impending upheaval.

4. 

   4. Tree of Blood

   Po di sangui · 1996

   Told in the style of an African folk tale, this richly photographed drama follows a community bound to a sacred forest and the fateful return of a brother, weaving myth and destiny. Flora Gomes's ambitious, poetic epic.

5. 

   5. Nome

   2023

   Following a young man who joins the guerrilla fight for Guinea-Bissau's independence and returns transformed, this drama traces the promise and betrayal of a nation's liberation across the decades. A sweeping historical film.

6. 

   6. Nha Fala

   2002

   A young Guinean woman studying in Europe is bound by a family superstition that she will die if she ever sings — until love and ambition tempt her to break the curse and find her own voice. Flora Gomes's exuberant musical comedy.