7 Best Movies Set in or About Uganda

7 Movies Set in or About Uganda

Foreign-led films whose sustained setting or subject remains centered on Uganda.

1. 

   1. The Last King of Scotland

   2006

   A naive young Scottish doctor seeking adventure in 1970s Uganda becomes the personal physician and confidant of dictator Idi Amin, and is slowly ensnared in the charm and horror of the regime. A gripping drama with a towering Forest Whitaker performance.

2. 

   2. Invisible Children

   2006

   Three young Californian filmmakers traveling in Africa stumble on the plight of Ugandan children abducted as soldiers by the Lord's Resistance Army, and turn their footage into a galvanizing call to action. An influential activist documentary.

3. 

   3. Mississippi Masala

   1991

   Years after her Indian family was expelled from Idi Amin's Uganda, a young woman running a motel in Mississippi falls for a Black carpet cleaner, igniting a romance that upends both their communities. Mira Nair's warm, vibrant drama of love and displacement.

4. 

   4. Man of Africa

   1953

   Filmed in Uganda and assembled by documentary pioneer John Grierson, this drama depicts the migration of communities resettling on new land and their struggle to build a life. An early docudrama of East Africa.

5. 

   5. Raid on Entebbe

   1976

   Based on a true operation, this drama recreates the daring 1976 Israeli commando mission to rescue hostages held by hijackers at Uganda's Entebbe airport. A tense wartime thriller.

6. 

   6. Operation Thunderbolt

   מבצע יונתן · 1977

   This Israeli drama dramatizes the 1976 hijacking of an Air France jet to Entebbe, Uganda, and the audacious commando raid mounted to free the hostages. A gripping account of a real rescue.

7. 

   7. Rise and Fall of Idi Amin

   1981

   This drama chronicles the brutal reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, from his 1971 seizure of power through the atrocities of his rule to his overthrow. A grim historical portrait.