The 2011 fantasy adventure drama Mirror Boy, written and directed by Obi Emelonye starring Genevieve Nnaji and Osita Iheme, was the first Nigerian film to secure a cinematic release in the United Kingdom with Odeon Cinemas, considered a landmark achievement for a Nollywood film.

The 1981 romantic drama, Love Brewed in the African Pot by Kwaw Ansah was the first independent Ghanaian film. It received popular and critical acclaim throughout English-speaking Africa and became the first Ghanian film to be adapted into a comic book.

Everyone’s Child (1996) directed by author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga was the first feature film directed by a black Zimbabwean woman. Originally conceived as a training video for community-based orphan care programs in response to the explosive growth of AIDS orphans on the continent, it was determined that a feature film would have more of an impact in building awareness on the issue.