The Politics of Democracy – March Documentaries

AfriDocs on BET in March presents a series of hard-hitting documentaries focused on the struggles and challenges that face both emerging and established democracies. From the battles of activists trying to promote and secure democracy in Nigeria and Zimbabwe, to the ways in which media investigations and leaks threaten the establishment in Ghana and the USA, these award-winning films are as rivetingly entertaining as they are informative.

Nigeria’s The Supreme Price is a ground-breaking film that tells the little known inside story of the democracy movement led by Hafsat Abiolo in the early 1990s. Told from the perspective of women, the film has created waves within Nigeria and across the continent.

CitizenFour is the Oscar winning documentary that proves truth is stranger than fiction. This must-watch film tells the inside story of Edward Snowden, whose leaks are still impacting American intelligence agencies to this day.

To round out the month, Tribeca Film Festival winning film Democratstakes an unprecedented inside look into Zimbabwean politics, and Chameleongoes deep into investigative journalism in Ghana.

AfriDocs is broadcast weekly on BET, DSTV channel 129, every Sunday evening at 20h00 CAT.

AfriDocs is for film buffs, lovers of African stories and culture, activists and ANYONE with a passion for powerful and REAL stories.

5 March
The Supreme Price | Joanna Lipper | Nigeria | 2014 | 76 min

In 1993, Nigeria historically elected M.K.O. Abiola as president, promising to end years of military dictatorship. The election was later annulled in a military coup. Abiola was imprisoned and his wife, who became leader of the pro-democracy movement, was then assassinated, having fought against human rights violations by the military dictatorship. Their daughter, Hafsat, took over her parents’ fight for democracy, and heads a progressive women-empowering movement, trying to dismantle the patriarchal structure of Nigerian society. The film provides an unprecedented look inside of Africa’s most populous nation from the perspective of women, exposing a deep history of political corruption.

Best Documentary – Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF)

12 March
CitizenFour | Laura Poitras | USA | 2014 | 114 min

CITIZENFOUR is a real life thriller, unfolding by the minute, giving audiences unprecedented access to filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald’s encounters with Edward Snowden in Hong Kong, as he hands over classified documents providing evidence of mass indiscriminate and illegal invasions of privacy by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Best Documentary Feature - Academy Award, 2015

19 March
Democrats | Camilla Nielsson | Zimbabwe | 2014 | 100 min

In Democrats, director Camilla Nielsson is given astonishing access to dictator Robert Mugabe's political inner circle as a new constitution is drafted, negotiated and signed into law. The film shows the back-and-forth battles between two sworn political enemies, Paul Mangwana and Douglas Mwonzora, who must work together for the common good, as they produce a document to steer the country towards founding principles that will define its future.

Best Documentary at Tribeca Film Festival, CPH:DOX, and Cinema Eye Honors Award ,Audience Award, Budapest International Documentary Festival 2015

26 March
Chameleon | Ryan Mullins | Ghana | 2014 | 78 min

Anas has been called the James Bond of Ghanaian journalism. He’s exposed a sex-trafficking ring by masquerading as a bartender, uncovered deplorable conditions in Accra’s psychiatric hospital, posed as a crown prince in order to bypass a rebel checkpoint. His unorthodox methods are infamous throughout Ghana, but, despite his notoriety, his face is unknown to the public. The film takes us behind the scenes of the Tiger Eye Investigations Bureau hot on the heels of his next big case.

Nominated Best Documentary Feature, Brooklyn Film Festival 2015