Seven Must-See Afrofuturist Films

These films merge culture, technology and mythology, reimagining Black narratives and pushing the limits of the speculative on screen.

These films tell stories that are as entertaining as they’re thought-provoking.

Photo from ‘Neptune Frost – Official Trailer,’ Kino Lorber, YouTube.

Afrofuturism is where we go to visualize the future or reimagine the past. Whether it’s blending culture with technology, or technology with mythology, Afrofuturist films deliver stories that are as entertaining as they’re thought-provoking. In that spirit, here are seven films (plus a bonus series) that push the boundaries of Blackness and of the speculative. These films stand out not just for their innovation but for the way they redefine what it means to see ourselves in the stories of tomorrow.

‘Hello Rain’ (2018)

Nigerian writer, director and editor C.J. 'Fiery' Obasi brings us an infusion of African magic and technology in this magical-realism film. Hello Rain is about a “scientist-witch,” Rain, who creates wigs that grant her and her accomplices supernatural powers. Yet when things get out of control and her masterpieces turn her power hungry friends into uncontrollable beings, she is faced with the difficult task of finding a way to destroy them before it's too late. Full of popping color, beautiful cinematography, and masterful artistic costume design, Obasi sure brings a world to life.

‘Neptune Frost’ (2021)

Directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman, this Rwandan sci-fi musical unfolds in Burundi, centering on an intersex hacker and a coltan miner who ignite a rebellion against a brutal mining regime. Fusing Afro-punk visuals, electronic beats, and sharp social commentary, we’re taken into an investigation of colonialism, exploitation, and resistance.

'Afronauts' (2014)

This is a short film to add to your watch list. Directed by talented Ghanaian filmmaker, Frances Bodomo, Afronauts was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 204, was featured in an exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and reviewed by the New York Times. Afronauts is both a journey back in time and a gaze into the future. It tells the hidden story of Zambian citizens who tried to beat the United States to the moon. With just a small budget, the film is nothing less than visually mesmerizing. It features the fierce Yolonda Ross (The Chi, The Get Down and Antwone Fisher), and Hoji Fortuna (The Chateau). Rated as one of OkayAfrica’s “Top African Films of 2014,” there’s a reason why it made it to another list ten years later.

‘Air Conditioner’ (2020)

This film follows security guard Matacedo (José Kiteculo) and housemaid Zezinha (Filomena Manuel) on a quest through the streets of Luanda, Angola, to find their boss’s air conditioner after units across the city mysteriously fall from buildings. As the story unfolds, we’re thrust into a gripping story where everyday life is mixed with a speculative twist. From the brilliant mind of Angolan filmmaker Mario Bastos, often referred to by his stage name, Fradique, Air Conditioner features intimate performances and unfolds like a hazy dream, exploring themes of memory, resilience, and the quiet rhythms of everyday survival in a surreal, heat-stricken Luanda.

‘Sankofa’ (1993)

Ethiopian filmmaker, Haile Gerima, known for the film Teza,which was rated one of the ten “Best African Films of All Time,” took the meaning of "sankofa" to an entirely new level. The Twi language of Ghanaian word, “sankofa” meaning “to return, to seek, to take” is applied in his emotionally tolling, yet thrilling film. Sankofa follows a narcissistic supermodel who is sucked back in time to a West Indies plantation as a slave, involuntarily becoming part of a rebellion stirring Maroon colony. The film is rated at 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and was placed in the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Starring Kofi Ghanaba, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, and Alexandra Duah, Sankofa is a story of sacrifice, reformation, community, and hope.

'Atlantics' (2019)

Directed by Mati Diop, this Senegalese film which was a New York Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival official selection, weaves magical realism into a love story marked by loss and injustice. It’s set in Dakar and follows Ada, whose lover Souleiman vanishes at sea with other exploited workers, only for their spirits to return and haunt the living. The story, which is also the first film directed by a Black woman to compete in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival, uses the supernatural to confront migration, exploitation, and unfulfilled dreams. It’s a haunting reflection on futures stolen, told with a rhythmic, ghostly pulse.

'Brown Girl Begins' (2017)

In Brown Girl Begins, Jamaican Canadian filmmaker Sharon Lewis takes us into the year 2049, where a young Black woman must resurrect Caribbean spirits to save her people trapped on an island in Toronto. Inspired by Nalo Hopkinson’s novel Brown Girl in the Ring, the film is a collusion of the past and future, as ancestral magic wars against dystopian forces. The fight for freedom is led by spirits of the old world, reimagined in a futuristic, forgotten corner of the city.

Bonus - 'Supacell' (2024)

While it’s not a film, our list will be incomplete without the addition of Rapman’s chart-topping, widely acclaimed hit series, Supacell. The series follows a group of Black South Londoners who suddenly develop superpowers. The show depicts superhero action with themes of identity, medical racism, and the genetic diversity of the African diaspora as they navigate their newfound abilities. Everyday life mixes with the extraordinary, and we’re offered a unique, culturally rich, and spectacularly original spin on the superhero genre.

Zubaydah Bashir is a filmmaker and writer from South Orange, NJ. Follow her on Instagram @zu_thecute and visit her website to indulge in her blog and find out about her latest film and tv projects.

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