Best of African Cinema So Far This Year.

Featuring a big blockbuster starring Nollywood stars, an epic Yoruba film, and an internationally acclaimed film changing the style of narrative storytelling in Africa.

We’re halfway into the year and our beloved African cinema has already recorded some notable and laudable feats on global platforms from not-so-recent movies to the most recent ones like the tense and action-packed “Blood Sisters” to South Africa’s drama series “Savage Beauty”.

Although, It’s not been your standard or common-or-garden year at the movies so far. The slate of big new movies remains a little skinnier (okay, maybe just slightly skinnier) than usual and release dates have continued to shift away from the cinema to modern alternatives. Despite the lingering impact of Covid in the past year, African cinema has successfully enjoyed a crowd-pleasing and occasionally electrifying six months so far. From Award-winning picks like For Maria; Ebun Pataki to the aforementioned Netflix-exclusive Blood Sisters, African cinema is definitely experiencing a dynamic shift.

And to document this growth, we’ve been compiling and periodically adding to our list of the Best Movies of 2022 (So Far) since January. n this list, we’ve come up with five movies and shows that we here at Bside believe are worth checking out and will still be a creative reference conversation six months down the road when year-end Best Movies lists are trotted out.

As you’ll see, our countdown’s most recent entries include a big blockbuster starring Nollywood stars, an epic Yoruba film, and an internationally acclaimed film changing the style of narrative storytelling in Africa.

Savage Beauty

Rated hundred per cent on Rotten tomatoes, Savage Beauty follows the story of Zinhle (played by Rosemary Zimu), who is determined to bring down the Bhengu family who runs a powerful, global beauty empire. The powerful family maintains significant wealth but also holds dark secrets. Don and Grace Bhengu (the patriarch and matriarch of the family) once used to test their toxic beauty products on street children. Zinhle is one of the survivors, and what follows is an intriguing revenge drama — one that is hard to put down.

This story which involves corporate manslaughter makes sure to grip audiences from the start. It manages to retain and balance a gripping intensity, romance, and desire entwined with revenge. Throughout the six chapters, the South African series avoids unnecessary roundabout plot points and keeps its twists plausible and plausible.

The creator, Lebogang Mogashoa, should be proud of creating such an enticing drama that highlights the byproduct of mammoth companies. We often enjoy the mass creation of products by popular brands, but we become morally stuck when considering who has suffered to get the products onto the market. Zinhle represents the forgotten ones to fill the pockets of a few.