Below the Sahara

May 30, 1953

1h 5m

★ 3.5

Overview

The photographic record of an African expedition led by producer-explorer Armand Denis and his (very) photogenic and camera-toting wife Michaela, who goes bird-riding at an ostrich farm. The expedition ranges from the central interior jungles and mountains to both coasts and as far south as Capetown, and ends with a gorilla hunt led by natives using 100-year-old muskets.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

RKO Radio Pictures

Below the Sahara Trailers

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Cast

Armand Denis

Michaela Denis

Carr Hartley

Cheetah Trainer

Raymond Hook

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

8.5

Algeria in Flames

Jan 2, 1958

These are the first images shot in the ALN maquis, camera in hand, at the end of 1956 and in 1957. These war images taken in the Aurès-Nementchas are intended to be the basis of a dialogue between French and Algerians for peace in Algeria, by demonstrating the existence of an armed organization close to the people. Three versions of Algeria in Flames are produced: French, German and Arabic. From the end of the editing, the film circulates without any cuts throughout the world, except in France where the first screening takes place in the occupied Sorbonne in 1968. Certain images of the film have circulated and are found in films, in particular Algerian films. Because of the excitement caused by this film, he was forced to go into hiding for 25 months. After the declaration of independence, he founded the first Algerian Audiovisual Center.

7.2

God Grew Tired of Us

Dec 31, 2006

Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.

0.0

Africa's Lost Eden

Apr 12, 2010

In the heart of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, the waters of Lake Urema explode with the thrashing of a giant crocodile tail. Gorongosa was once known as the place where Noah left his ark: 1,500 square miles of lush floodplains in central Mozambique, packed with wild animals. All around, enormous buffalo, soaring fish eagles, and countless antelopes roam freely. But on closer look, something strange is going on. Fifteen years of civil war has taken a heavy toll and many species have been almost completely wiped out. All the usual top predators and prey are virtually missing, except for one - giant crocodiles and thousands of them. Discover what is being done to bring this African oasis back to its former glory, including perhaps the most ambitious restoration effort ever attempted, with elephants, hippos and scores of zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo, being relocated into the park.

5.7

Harry and Meghan: An African Journey

Oct 20, 2019

“Harry & Meghan: An African Journey" features unprecedented access and exclusive interview with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex about the challenges they face living in the public eye.

0.0

Donga

Nov 14, 2023

“There was excitement in the air,” says Donga, now in his late twenties, describing his feelings when the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule broke out in 2011. He was 19, living in Misrata, and boldly went to film the fighting with a friend. A decade later, in a hotel in Istanbul, where he has been living since he was wounded in battle, he looks back on the past ten years through excerpts from his videos. And he reflects on how that period has affected him.

4.4

Slave Trade in the World Today

Jun 27, 1964

The film documents modern slave trade through a number of African countries, under dictatorship rule. The filming was conducted both in public places, and sometimes with the use of hidden cameras, for high impact scenes of nudity, sex, and violence - and a few surprises, as slaves made out of peregrins to Asia, and slave traders paid in traveller checks.

7.2

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos

Dec 17, 2008

In the remote and forgotten wilderness of Lake Natron, in northern Tanzania, one of nature's last great mysteries unfolds: the birth, life and death of a million crimson-winged flamingos.

7.5

Jane

Dec 28, 2017

Drawing from never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives, director Brett Morgen tells the story of Jane Goodall, a woman whose chimpanzee research revolutionized our understanding of the natural world.

6.7

Statues Also Die

May 1, 1953

Short documentary commissioned by the magazine Présence Africaine. From the question "Why is the African in the anthropology museum while Greek or Egyptian art are in the Louvre?", the directors expose and criticize the lack of consideration for African art. The film was censored in France for eight years because of its anti-colonial perspective.

7.8

Terror at the Mall

Sep 15, 2014

A documentary detailing an indiscriminate terrorist attack that left 71 dead in Kenya.

9.0

The Beautiful Game

Oct 4, 2012

Across Africa, people are using soccer to lift themselves up, to create change in their communities and to pave the way for progress. "The Beautiful Game" follows several unforgettable Africans who are beating the odds on and off the pitch.

0.0

Seize the Summit

Nov 8, 2024

4 young strangers, all war refugees, unite to take on the challenge of summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, one of the seven summits and the highest peak in Africa. They have been brought together by the charity INARA to shed light on the impact of war on children. The mountain always has a lesson, and often not what we think or expect it to be. Not all will make it to the summit, some will be forced to face dormant personal demons. This is a story of physical and emotional adventure, the rollercoaster of life, and the possibilities that emerge when we stand together.

8.8

Liyana

Jul 15, 2017

A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.

6.7

Mobutu, King of Zaire

Jun 2, 1999

This film is the result of more than two years of work tracking down archive material and witnesses close to Mobutu in Africa, Europe and the U.S. More than 950 hours of footage have been seen by the world. Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released. Completing these exceptional documents, are more than 50 hours of interviews with those close to the former president and the events surrounding his reign, conducted by the director in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Like a vast historical puzzle, this film pieces together the tragic history of a country, and its self-styled leader - the dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, "King of Zaïre".

No Image Available

3.5

Circumcision

Jan 1, 1949

Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this film has been used to make "Les Fils de l'Eau".

6.0

The Panafrican Festival in Algiers

Jan 1, 1969

Festival panafricain d'Alger is a documentary by William Klein of the music and dance festival held 40 years ago in the streets and in venues all across Algiers. Klein follows the preparations, the rehearsals, the concerts… He blends images of interviews made to writers and advocates of the freedom movements with stock images, thus allowing him to touch on such matters as colonialism, neocolonialism, colonial exploitation, the struggles and battles of the revolutionary movements for Independence.

8.2

Ôrí

May 2, 1989

A look at the Brazilian black movement between 1977 and 1988, going by the relationship between Brazil and Africa.

3.5

Der lange Weg ans Licht

Feb 28, 2008

Edeltraut Hertel - a midwife caught between two worlds. She has been working as a midwife in a small village near Chemnitz for almost 20 years, supporting expectant mothers before, during and after the birth of their offspring. However, working as a midwife brings with it social problems such as a decline in birth rates and migration from the provinces. Competition for babies between birthing centers has become fierce, particularly in financial terms. Obstetrics in Tanzania, Africa, Edeltraud's second place of work, is completely different. Here, the midwife not only delivers babies, she also trains successors, carries out educational and development work and struggles with the country's cultural and social problems.

6.2

The Great Green Wall

Oct 22, 2020

An epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall — an ambitious vision to grow a wall of trees stretching across the entire continent to fight against increasing drought, desertification and climate change.

Below the Sahara

Overview

Genres

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