01 A Senegalese retelling of Carmen, with its heroine seducing her way out of a women's prison.
Directed by Joseph Gaï Ramaka · 1h 26m
Where to watch
Stream: OVID
12 Best Senegalese Movies to Watch
By Vlad Zakh · September 5, 2026
Senegal Drama thought provokingslow and atmospheric
Senegalese cinema began, in effect, with Ousmane Sembene, often called the father of African film, and the country’s output since has kept his directness about colonialism, class and migration. Karmen Gei retells Carmen with its heroine seducing her way out of a women’s prison, Guelwaar sees an activist’s body vanish after burial, Faat Kine follows a single mother who built a business and faces the men who wronged her, and Atlantics lets a missing fiance haunt an arranged marriage. Touki Bouki, Hyenas, Moolaade, Ceddo, Xala, Black Girl and The Pirogue round out the list.
01 
02 A political activist's body goes missing after burial, exposing tension between his village's faiths.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 1h 55m
Where to watch
Stream: Criterion Channel
Stream: Criterion Channel
03 A single mother who built a successful business fights back against the men who once wronged her.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 2h 00m
04 A young woman's missing fiance lingers like a ghost over her arranged marriage.
Directed by Mati Diop · 1h 46m · Rated PG-13
Where to watch
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Stream: Netflix
05 Two young lovers scheme and steal their way toward a dreamed-of escape to Paris.
Directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty · 1h 31m
Where to watch
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
06 A rich woman returns to her impoverished hometown offering a fortune in exchange for one man's death.
Directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty · 1h 50m · Rated NR
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
07 A woman shelters girls fleeing genital cutting, defying an entire village's tradition.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 2h 04m
08 A village resists forced conversion to Islam in a fictionalised precolonial power struggle.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 1h 57m · Rated NR
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
09 A newly wealthy businessman is cursed with impotence on his wedding night to a much younger third wife.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 2h 01m
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store
10 A Senegalese maid's isolation in France builds to a devastating breaking point.
Directed by Ousmane Sembène · 1h 05m · Rated NR
Where to watch
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Rent: Amazon Video · Buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel
11 Thirty men crowd into a small fishing boat for the dangerous ocean crossing from Senegal to the Canary Islands.
Directed by Moussa Touré · 1h 27m
Where to watch
Rent or buy: Amazon Video
12 Three mercenaries hiding out in Senegal's Sine-Saloum delta discover a supernatural threat far worse than the men chasing them.
Directed by Jean Luc Herbulot · 1h 24m
Where to watch
Stream: Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Stream: Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Stream: Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
Stream: Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, Shudder Apple TV channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Amazon Video
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
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