This Pride Month, these are the queer films from Africa that defied all odds and deserve to be on your watchlist

African queer films have never been absent from the film industry; they are only repeatedly sidelined and forced to survive in the margins.

I still remember when I first realised African queer films existed and how difficult it is to actually access them. You hear about films that slipped past censorship boards only to disappear again. Only a few come back years later through festival screenings and academic archives. Sometimes you stumble on some YouTube uploads that may or may not still be online tomorrow. And yet, queer films exist persistently and are a beautiful statement of our diverse culture.

So for Pride Month, this is a guide to African queer films that have shaped conversation across the continent and beyond. These films hold love, identity, fear, tenderness, and resistance in spaces where this storytelling is paramount.

Read also: Pride Month: Celebrating the dreams and aspirations of queer Nigerian

 

“Ìfé” (2020)  

“Ìfé” is a tender portrait of two women, Ifẹ́ and Adaora, who meet, fall in love, and try to hold on to that love in a society where it is not legally or socially protected. The film leans into intimacy, showing queer love as something normal and deeply human rather than abstract or political.

It became one of the most talked-about Nigerian queer films precisely because of what happened to it. It never received a formal theatrical release after regulators refused to classify it. This made its existence more symbolic than widely accessible in Nollywood’s mainstream circuit.

The story did not end with the original film. In 2026, “Ìfẹ́: The Sequel” premiered at the prestigious BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, reuniting audiences with Ifẹ́ and Adaora years after their first love story. Its inclusion in one of the world’s leading LGBTQIA+ film festivals was a reminder that, despite censorship and distribution challenges, Nigerian queer stories continue to find new audiences and new ways to stand the test of time.

“Rafiki” (2018)

“Rafiki” follows two young women in Nairobi, Kenya, whose friendship gradually shifts into romance. Kenya and Ziki’s relationship unfolds in an unlikely world. They navigate family expectations, religion, and state laws, which shape every choice they make.

The film became globally known not only for its story but for the controversy around it. It was banned in Kenya shortly after release for its depiction of lesbian love —  a decision that sparked international debate and briefly made it one of the most visible examples of queer censorship in African cinema.

“The Wound (Inxeba)” (2017) – South Africa

“The Wound” is set against the backdrop of Xhosa initiation rituals, following a factory worker, Xolani, navigating both his role in a traditional rite of passage and his hidden queer desire. The film moves through themes of masculinity, secrecy, and the emotional cost of living between worlds that refuse to overlap.

It sparked intense backlash in South Africa, with debates about cultural representation and morality leading to calls for restrictions and attempted bans in certain spaces. The film ultimately became a lightning rod for conversations about who gets to tell intimate cultural stories and how queer identity fits within them.

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“Tchindas” (2015)

“Tchindas” is a documentary about Tchinda Andrade, a transgender woman so beloved by her community that her name has become synonymous with LGBT people in São Vicente, Cape Verde. The documentary observes the queer and trans community in Cape Verde, particularly during Carnival season. It captures moments of joy, visibility, and belonging that feel rare in many African contexts, showing how identity can exist beyond Western definitions and still feel real and rooted in culture and community.

Rather than centring conflict, the film focuses on everyday life and celebration, offering a softer but powerful counter-narrative to the idea that queer African existence is always defined by struggle alone.

“Dakan” (1997) 

“Dakan” is often cited as one of the earliest West African films to openly centre a same-sex relationship. It tells the story of two young men, Manga and Sory, whose love is tested by family pressure and social expectation, placing their relationship in direct tension with cultural norms of masculinity and lineage.

Its significance lies in its narrative and its timing. It arrived long before African queer films had any visible framework, making it a foundation in Africa’s film history.

“Woubi Chéri” (1998)

“Woubi Chéri” documents queer life in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, focusing on the “woubi” and “yossi” identities that exist within local cultural frameworks. It challenges the assumption that queer identity in Africa must always be explained through Western categories, instead showing how African communities name and understand themselves on their own terms.

The film remains one of the earliest documentary records of queer African urban life, capturing a world that is often spoken about but rarely filmed with this level of proximity and care.

African queer films will thrive 

Across all these films, it is clear that the existence of queer films is neither new nor rare. What is rare is access to it without interruptions, bans, delays, limited releases, or removal from public platforms.

Queer films like “Ìfé” and “Rafiki” sit in a long pattern where storytelling exists alongside systems that try to contain it. Yet the work continues to surface, whether through festivals, underground distribution, or digital archives that refuse to forget them.

There is still a long way to go before queer storytelling in Africa can exist without pushback. But these films already make one thing undeniable: these stories are here, they have always been here, and they will always be told.

Read more: Mainstream Nigerian feminism has an inclusion problem — and queer women are paying the price 

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