Best Senegalese drama movies
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch drama films from Senegal, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
Touki Bouki 1973
Mory, a cowherd, and Anta, a university student, try to make money in order to go to Paris and leave their boring past behind.
70The Wagoner 1963
A cart-taxi driver goes to the city to make a living, but out of sympathy with other poverty-stricken people, he works for free and goes hungry himself.
66Tall as the Baobab Tree 2012
In a rural African village poised at the outer edge of the modern world, a teenage girl hatches a secret plan to rescue her 11-year-old sister from an arranged marriage.
78Nafi's Father 2019
Tokara wants to marry his cousin, the beautiful Nafi, bringing their fathers into conflict with one another. The youngest brother is a clergyman, while the other is a candidate for Mayor of the small town in Senegal. The struggle seems to be all about the children, but gradually it transpires that the children are pawns in a bitter dispute. Can their family ties help them overcome these ideological differences?
77Saint Louis Blues 2009
This sweet musical takes us on a cross-country trip through Senegal, from Dakar to Saint Louis in a battered taxi, as passengers sing their stories.
70Tang Jër 2020
An unusual Tangana tenant observes in his mysterious restaurant, the incessant ballet of the beings that populate the city of Dakar.
70Little Light 2003
Fatima is a little girl of eight years. By opening and closing the refrigerator, she wonders if the light stays on when the door closes...
70Fary the Donkey 1990
When Serigne Ibra finally decides to get married, he declares that his future bride must not only be a ravishing beauty, but also must not have any kind of scar or blemish on her body.
45Samedi Cinema 2016
Two young Senegalese boys are determined to see one last film at the town movie theater before it closes forever. When they fall short of their goal, Baba’s loyalty to Sembene will be tested.
56Almodou 2002
Sometimes distasteful practices are most effectively criticized with a good sense of humor. Meet Modou, a young, courageous and determined talibé - a pupil in a Koranic school - who manages to escape from his corrupt and abusive teacher to find a better life in contemporary Dakar, Senegal.
60Badou Boy 1970
Badou Boy, a cheeky young man, travels through the streets of Dakar on the city buses and experiences adventures.
48Picc Mi 1992
Follows the story of two young boys and their adventure through the streets of Africa.
50Rocking Poponguine 1994
A tale of growing up in 1960s Senegal. Bacc narrates his early years of living in Popenguine, a town divided by culture and musical tastes.
45Boxumaleen!! 1991
Four junkyard kids go into town looking for something to cure their hero, Grand Batche. On the way, they come across various symbols of society: the cop, the mayor, the postman, the madman, the artist...
50Saaraba 1988
Tamsir returns to Senegal after 17 years in Europe. His uncle gives him a patronage job in Dakar, virtually without duties. He visits his family's village to see his parents, and there he meets the beautiful Lissa. Tamsir espouses traditional ways, as does Lissa, but when her parents agree to marry her off to a corrupt and well-spoken member of parliament, Tamsir and Lissa dishonor the family and she becomes pregnant. The MP's response, his and Tasmir's uncle's plan to capture the village farmland, the reactions of Lissa's parents, who are strict followers of Islam, the disaffection of Dakar youth, and the dreams of a village mechanic to find "Saaraba" (Utopia) complete the story.
43Letter from My Village 1976
Ngor is a young man living in a Senegalese village who wishes to marry Coumba. Ongoing drought in the village has affected its crop of groundnuts and as a result, Ngor cannot afford the bride price for Coumba. He goes to Senegal's capital city, Dakar, to try to earn more money and is exploited there. He returns to the villagers and shares his experiences of the city with the other men. The story, which shows the daily lives of the villagers, is told in the form of a letter to a friend from a villager, voiced by Faye.
50Tauw 1970
A young unemployed man fends off accusations of laziness and makes a home for his pregnant girlfriend who has been rejected by her family.
46Môl 1966
A young fisherman dreams of motorizing his boat to make his work easier. His dream becomes reality, thanks to his courage and his determination but causes conflict between traditional values and the modern notion of progress.
45Et la neige n'était plus 1965
After winning a scholarship to study in France, a young Senegalese man returns home and questions his experience and his future, with honesty, courage and humor.
35A Tooth for a Tooth 2023
Idrissa lives in the suburbs of Dakar, Senegal. As a result of budgetary restrictions imposed by the IMF, then headed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he lost his job as a civil servant. Since then, Idrissa has been looking for work, without success. His pride as an African man is all the more affected by the fact that he is now entirely dependent on his wife, Viviane, who somehow manages to support the family through her medical practice. Aminata (Idrissa and Viviane’s daughter) and Moussa, two young students in love with each other, also see their lives disrupted by the economic situation imposed on the country. After yet another humiliation, Idrissa, who holds Strauss-Kahn responsible for his misfortune, decides to go and see a marabout to prepare his revenge…
30And So Angels Die 2001
A Senegalese man living in Paris with his French wife and children receives a letter from his father back home saying he has arranged for him to take a second wife. The man's indecision outrages his French wife and leads to the end of his marriage, his return to Senegal and his reflection about how his life has ended up.
20The Bronze Bracelet 1974
The theme of the rural exodus has inspired many African authors. In the past, by tradition, the young peasant went abroad temporarily to earn the money needed to settle in the village. Now, he leaves the countryside with no idea of returning, convinced that he will find all the means to make his fortune in these mirage cities. Issa, in turn, takes the road to the capital. Before leaving, Aminata slips a bronze bracelet on her arm as a token of loyalty and love. Then begins for Issa the inexorable chain of disillusions, bad luck, misunderstandings
10Diankha-Bi 1969
This film poses the problem of the emancipation of women in Senegal through the intersecting story of three young girls from the same family. Raised differently, they will not meet the same fate.
10Sindiely 1965
Sindiely tells the story of a greedy father wishing to marry his daughter to a successful fabric merchant, despite her love for another young man. The hostility of the family makes the father yield to his daughter’s wishes, allowing for the young couple to wed.
10Baks 1974
Idrissa is a rebellious little boy who drops out of school and joins a gang of hooligans that live on the beaches of Dakar. He gradually becomes detached from his family and adopted by his new friends who initiate him into the art of theft and the pleasures of yamba, marijuana.
10Kodou 1971
A young girl bolts away during a traditional but painful lip - tatooing ceremony, incurring the mockery of the villagers and the anger of her parents .
10