This is our list of the best South African movies ever made. They will make you laugh, make you cry but more than that they’ll educate you about our beloved country. Poet Don Mattera calls it the only country in Africa without a name, but a direction.

1. Tsotsi

Synopsis

Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.

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Movie Details

Rating: 7.2 (31701 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Crime, Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468565/

Trailer

2. Jerusalema

Synopsis

A young hoodlum rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.3 (10944 ratings)
Content Rating: 16
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783532/

Trailer

3. Max and Mona

Synopsis

Max Bua leaves his country life behind in hopes of becoming a doctor in Johannesburg, though the big city has different plans for him.

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Movie Details

Rating: 5.8 (167 ratings)
Content Rating: N/A
Genre: Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382839/

Trailer

4. Zulu

Synopsis

Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.7 (43219 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Drama, History, War
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058777/

Trailer

5. Blood Diamond

Synopsis

A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 8 (591785 ratings)
Content Rating: 16
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450259/

Trailer

6. Cry Freedom

Synopsis

South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.4 (14594 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092804/

Trailer

7. Stander

Synopsis

The life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7 (9298 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Action, Biography, Crime
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0326208/

Trailer

8. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Synopsis

A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.1 (29325 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2304771/

Trailer

9. Cry, the Beloved Country

Synopsis

A South African preacher goes to search for his wayward son, who has committed a crime in the big city.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 6.8 (2059 ratings)
Content Rating: 6
Genre: Drama, Thriller
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112749/

Trailer

10. Invictus

Synopsis

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.3 (168707 ratings)
Content Rating: AL
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/

Trailer

11. The Gods Must Be Crazy

Synopsis

A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.3 (59991 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080801/

Trailer

12. Disgrace

Synopsis

After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 6.5 (5849 ratings)
Content Rating: 12
Genre: Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445953/

Trailer

13. Skin

Synopsis

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 6.9 (3738 ratings)
Content Rating: PG-13
Genre: Biography, Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586/

Trailer

14. District 9

Synopsis

Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.

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Movie Details

Rating: 7.9 (722097 ratings)
Content Rating: 16
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

Trailer

15. Mr. Bones

Synopsis

A medicine man is sent looking for the son of his tribal king, and brings back an American golfer and a host of goons intent on keeping him in the golf tournament.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 4.7 (2942 ratings)
Content Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Family
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302819/

Trailer

16. Material

Synopsis

Cassim is a young Muslim man who works in his father's fabric shop in Johannesburg. However, Cassim wants to be a stand-up comedian, which his father disproves of. When he gets a gig at a local bar, he has to find a way of keeping…

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.1 (1163 ratings)
Content Rating: Unrated
Genre: Comedy, Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1899240/

Trailer

17. Fiela se Kind

Synopsis

A coloured woman in South Africa finds a white baby on her doorstep and raises him as her own. Nine years later, he is discovered and taken away.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.5 (211 ratings)
Content Rating: N/A
Genre: Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144200/

Trailer

18. Yankee Zulu

Synopsis

Childhood friends Rhino and Zulu reunite as adults. Zulu, a wanted criminal after years in the US, drags Rhino into a wild chase with racist group T. U. R. D and lots of money.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 6.4 (1963 ratings)
Content Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111787/

Trailer

19. Forever Young, Forever Free

Synopsis

When the chips are down and everything seems lost, it's good to have a best friend.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 6.8 (231 ratings)
Content Rating: G
Genre: Drama, Family
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074542/

Trailer

20. Breaker Morant

Synopsis

Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.

Poster

Movie Details

Rating: 7.8 (14565 ratings)
Content Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, History, War
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080310/