‘Grand comme le Baobab’ (“Tall as the baobab tree”) is a film told through the voice of Coumba (in Pular language), who tries to avoid her 11-year-old sister from being sold into marriage to settle a family debt in rural Senegal; shot mostly with a local cast.

Then there’s two films for which we don’t have trailers.

Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankolé (his breakthrough role was in Claire Denis’s ‘Chocolat’) plays a Rotterdam scientist returning to “his African roots” in South African director Rudolf Buitendach’s ‘Where The Road Runs Out’. Some location video here and here.

‘Small Small Thing’, a documentary about widespread rape of young girls in Liberia.

Director Paul Haggis is producing a feature film about Hugh Masekela’s life; the director will be South African Mukunda Michael Dewil, whose latest film, ‘Vehicle 19’ (shot in Johannesburg) stars Paul Walke. Also an excuse to post Nadine Hutton’s impressive photography of Hugh Masekela.

The promo for ‘Oblivion’, a yet to be finished Ethiopian feature about “telafa”, a practice whereby young women are abducted for marriage. Here’s the fundraising page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XMG88ji4I4

The documentary film ‘Stolen Seas’ about Somali piracy won ‘Best Picture’ at the Locarno Film Festival earlier this year.

http://vimeo.com/38818103

Here’s an interview with the director.

Shortly after Ben Ali fled Tunisia, the first sit-in began. ‘Fallega 2011’ is a documentary by Rafik Omrani.

Finally, three films projects that are in their initial stages:

‘Night Has Fallen’, a new film by Akin Omotoso whose ‘Man on Ground’ I reviewed here.


‘The Boda Boda Thieves’ by Ugandan Donald Mugisha will be shot later this year.


And Jonathan Wacks will be putting South African author Andrew Brown’s bestseller ‘Coldsleep Lullaby’ to film.

We’ll try to turn these ‘Films to watch out for’ posts into a regular feature. See the first part here.