Africa’s film industry is being highlighted by Netflix.
The streaming platform is dedicating May to films from the continent in anticipation of Africa Day on May 25, an event observed annually to commemorate the founding of the Organisation of African Unity.
Under a new section titled From Cape to Cairo, now available, the platform has a variety of films, television series and documentaries by creators from across the continent.
These include two new Netflix Original series, Blood Sisters and Savage Beauty.
The former, which will have its premiere on Thursday, is a Nigerian four-part crime drama set in Lagos that centres on friends Sarah (Ini Dima-Okojie) and Kemi (Nancy Isime).
When Sarah accidentally kills her abusive fiance, both women go on the run and their plight raises issues of domestic violence across the country.
South African drama series Savage Beauty, out on May 12, is a taut family tale about a mysterious woman who ingratiates herself into a rich family with secrets of her own.
Also on offer is South African true-crime docuseries Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star, the popular reality series Young Famous & African and the documentary Secrets of The Saqqara Tomb.
International content by talents among the African diaspora also features, including Meet the Adebanjos, a sitcom based on a Nigerian-British family residing in London, and 2020 film Shine Your Eyes, about a boy who travels from Nigeria to Brazil in search of his estranged brother.
To shed further light on the collection and the overall nature of African cinema, Netflix will launch the podcast Never Late/African Time on Wednesday, including interviews with the people behind stories appearing on the platform. This includes Isime and Dima-Okojie from Blood Sisters, Noxolo Dlamini from Silverton Siege and Kemi Adetiba, director of King of Boys.
The podcast will be available on the AfricaOnNetflix YouTube channel as well as Apple iTunes and Spotify, globally.
13 new series and films coming to Netflix Middle East in May — in pictures:
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'Senior Year': this new comedy film with Rebel Wilson comes out on May 13. All photos: Netflix -
'The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib': a new series for children comes out on May 19. -
'Vampire in the Garden': the Japanese anime series comes out on May 16. -
'The Photographer: Murder in Pinamar': this Spanish true-crime film is out on May 19. -
'Stranger Things 4: Volume 1': the first lot of episodes in the new season is out on May 27. -
'The Lincoln Lawyer': the new crime drama series is out on May 13. -
'Hold Your Breath: The Ice Dive': this documentary about human achievement is out on May 3. -
'Love, Death & Robots': volume three of this popular anthology series is out on May 20. -
'Cyber Hell: Exposing an Internet Horror': the documentary from Korea about a network of chat rooms rampant with sex crimes is out on May 18. -
'The Sound of Magic': the South Korean fantasy drama musical is out on May 6. -
'Who Killed Sara?': season three of this Spanish thriller is out on May 18. -
'Welcome to Eden': the new Spanish series is being released on May 6. -
'Bling Empire': the second season of this reality TV show is out on May 13.
