Best movies on Apple TV+ (Afrique du Sud) : our Top 20

2004 · Terry George

Set in Rwanda in the 1990s amid a genocide that claimed over a million Tutsi lives while much of the world looked away, this film is drawn from real events and follows hotelier Paul Rusesabagina. Facing chaos and danger, he converts his hotel into a refuge for more than a thousand people, risking everything to protect those seeking shelter.

With Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Fana Mokoena, Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno and Desmond Dube

2015 · George Miller

On the planet’s outer edge, a bleached, merciless desert has reduced civilization to fragments, with desperate people driven to violence as they claw for scant food, water and shelter. In the midst of this ruin, two fugitives—rebels on the run—race across sand and smashed settlements, carrying a fragile hope: to rally the scattered survivors and challenge the brutal forces that keep the world fractured.

With Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Riley Keough, Zoë Kravitz and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

2005 · Carroll Ballard

An orphaned cheetah cub is taken in by a young boy in South Africa, and the pair form an unbreakable bond, the cub becoming both his pet and closest companion.

With Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Mary Makhatho, Nthabiseng Kenoshi, Hope Davis, Jennifer Steyn and Nicky Rebello

2013 · Justin Chadwick

An intimate portrait that follows Nelson Mandela from his upbringing in a rural village through his emergence as a leader, culminating in the historic inauguration that made him South Africa’s first president elected by popular vote.

With Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Fana Mokoena, Robert Hobbs and Jamie Bartlett

2009 · Neill Blomkamp

In 2010, amid Paris’s impoverished neighborhoods, a deep-cover police officer and a reformed street fighter embed themselves within a violent gang to locate and neutralize a stolen neutron warhead before it can be detonated.

With Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, Elizabeth Mkandawie, John Sumner and William Allen Young

2001 · Michael Mann

In 1964, fresh from Olympic glory and newly professional, Cassius Clay bursts into the boxing world with audacious charm. Outspoken and flamboyant, he reshapes how Black athletes are perceived by backing his bold public persona and unabashed conviction that he is the best the sport has seen. Yet just as he reaches the pinnacle, both his career and his personal life are put to the ultimate test.

With Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright and Mykelti Williamson

2015 · Neill Blomkamp

Brimming with potential from the moment he emerges, Chappie is an extraordinary, highly gifted being. Shaped by both kind and corrupt influences in his environment, he must lean on empathy and a developing moral compass to find his place and define himself. The crucial distinction is that Chappie isn’t human—he’s an artificial intelligence housed in a robot.

With Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Ninja, Yo-Landi Visser, Sigourney Weaver and Chris Shields

2007 · Bille August

Over the summer, fourteen-year-old Maik and his new classmate Tschick commandeer a car and set off on an improvised road trip, where a succession of unexpected encounters and adventures profoundly changes them both.

With Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger, Shiloh Henderson and Patrick Lyster

1964 · Cy Endfield

As a child, Ali Neuman barely survived a brutal attack by the Inkatha movement during its violent clash with Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress; only he and his mother lived through the massacre. Years later, the trauma endures—Ali remains marked by deep psychological wounds that refuse to heal.

With Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green and Paul Daneman

2006 · Phillip Noyce

Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, the film centers on Patrick Chamusso, a mild-mannered foreman at Secunda CTL — the world’s largest synthetic-fuel plant — whose ordinary life is upended when he is falsely blamed for an attempted bombing. Arrested, jailed and brutalized, the once-apolitical worker is radicalized by the cruelty he endures, ultimately turning to the resistance and mounting a successful act of sabotage on the facility.

With Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie Mbuli, Mncedisi Shabangu, Tumisho Masha, Sithembiso Khumalo and Terry Pheto

2014 · Frank Coraci

After a disastrous blind date arranged by well-meaning friends, newly single mom Lauren and recently widowed dad Jim are adamant they never want to see each other again. Yet fate has other plans: without realizing it, each of them buys half of the same family vacation package to a resort in South Africa for spring break. Now, accompanied by their kids, they’re stuck sharing a supposedly romantic suite and must navigate a packed itinerary of family activities together, forcing them to confront their mutual dislike — and the possibility that sparks might fly despite their best efforts.

With Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Bella Thorne, Terry Crews, Joel McHale and Lauren Lapkus

2013 · Anthony Silverston

Blamed for a brutal drought because only half of his stripes remain, a young zebra is driven from his herd and sets out to recover the markings he’s lost. An overly protective wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich soon join his quest, forming an unlikely but loyal fellowship. Together they confront a ruthless leopard who rules the plains, outsmart him, and restore water and safety to the zebra’s family.

With Jake T. Austin, Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi, AnnaSophia Robb, Laurence Fishburne, Richard E. Grant and Loretta Devine