List of films featuring colonialism


Colonialism in the cinema has been the subject of many books and essays. Stereotyping, distortion, imagistic mistreatment, assimilationism and caricatural visions of colonies have been practiced in this type of cinema. Before 1960 most colonialism films were made with narratives constructed from the point of view of the colonizing nationals. During the era of colonialism, many European governments funded film projects which involved their overseas colonies; either for instructional purposes for individuals living in colonies or to support colonialism in general. The United States' settler colonialism resulted in the American westward expansion which led to the establishment of the so-called Western genre, which dealt with many colonialist topics; these have been subverted in Revisionist Westerns, which came about during a re-evaluation of the genre in the 1960s.
In June 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a formal written apology to actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather in relation to the management of her appearance on behalf of Marlon Brando to decline an Academy Award. In 1973, Sacheen declined the best actor award on Brando's behalf "...''in recognition of the misrepresentation and mistreatment of Native American people by the film industry..."''

List of colonialism-related films

The following is an alphabetical list of films and series that feature or relate to colonialism.
FilmYearDescription
Adwa1999In 1896, Ethiopia defeats an Italian army bent on conquest and colonization at the Battle of Adwa.
African's Black Star: The Legacy of Kwame Nkrumah2011Film about the rise and fall of Ghana's colonial liberation leader Kwame Nkrumah.
Africa Addio1966Documentary about the end of the colonial era in Africa, and the violence and chaos that followed.
Afrique 501950Film about colonization in Ivory Coast during French rule.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God1972Film by Werner Herzog, based on the journey of Spanish explorer Lope de Aguirre during his 16th-century attempts to conquer what is now Peru.
An American Genocide1999ABC Australia-produced film about the genocide of Mayan nations in Guatemala. .
Amistad1997About a slave revolt in 1839 by Mende captives, who had been captured and sold to European slave traders, and illegally transported by a Portuguese ship from West Africa to Cuba. Two Spanish plantation owners, bought 53 captives, including four children, in Havana, Cuba, and were transporting them on the ship Amistad to their plantations in Cuba.
Amigo2010Events in the Philippines in 1900 during the Philippine–American War.
Another Country2015Examines how a traditional way of life has been disrupted by Australia, and the consequences that has had for the Yolngu people.
The Australian Dream2019Featuring Australian Football League player Adam Goodes, the film examines Aboriginal identity and racism in modern Australia.
Baler2008Set in the late 19th century, this historical fiction is based on the siege of Baler, a colonial Spanish military base by Filipino revolutionaries.
Bamako2006The film about the relation between historical colonization and African issues including a trial and debt.
Barkskins2020Colonial French and English, and Indigenous peoples enter conflict in New France.
The Battle of Algiers1966An Italian-Algerian film covering the struggle for decolonization in French Algeria in the context of the Battle of Algiers.
Beans2020It explores the 1990 Oka Crisis at Kanesatake a Mohawk settlement in southwestern Quebec, Canada.
Beatriz's War2013During the Indonesian occupation, a young East Timorese woman named Beatriz struggles.
Bengal Shadows2018This 50-minute featurette is a film on the causes of the Bengal famine of 1943 during the period of British rule in India.
Berlin 1885: The Division of Africa2010A drama about the Scramble for Africa.
Between Two Worlds: The Story of Gonzalo Guerrero2012Film based on the life of Spanish soldier Gonzalo Guerrero and his transition to fight on the side of colonized Mayas.
The Birth of a Nation1915An American drama film that depicts African Americans in a negative light and glorified the Ku Klux Klan. Despite its controversy and protests by activists, the film was a commercial success.
The Birth of a Nation2016Based on the life of Nat Turner, a former slave in America, who leads a liberation movement to free African Americans in Virginia that results in a violent retaliation from whites.
Bitter Springs1950An Australian pioneer family in the Australian outback in 1900 has problems with local Aboriginal people arise over the possession of a waterhole.
Black and White in Color1976French colonists in Africa enter World War 1 with help of locals against Germans in a neighbouring colony.
Black Robe1991Based on the fictional novel of the same name. Set in the 17th century, it depicts the adventures of a Jesuit missionary tasked with founding a mission in New France.
Blood of the Condor1969Forced sterilization to prevent births amongst Indigenous Bolivians.
The Book of Negroes2015A Canadian television series based on the book of the same name. The series deals with the experiences of Black Loyalists during the Revolutionary War.
Bounty2021Members of the Penobscot Nation in Maine present the difficult history of around 70 cases of government-endorsed scalping of Indigenous people.
55 Days in Peking1963The Boxers oppose the westerners in China in an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian movement.
Brave New Land2000Portuguese colonial lives in 18th century Brazil.
Burn!1969An agent provocateur is sent to the fictional island of Queimada, a Portuguese colony in the Caribbean to replace the Portuguese administration by a formally sovereign state controlled by white latifundistes friendly to the British government. To realize this project, the agent persuades the black slaves to fight for their liberation from slavery.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee2007A film about the history of Indigenous peoples in the American West in the 1860s and 1870s, focusing upon the transition from traditional ways of living to living on reservations.
Cabeza de Vaca1991Mexican film about the explorations of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in the New World. He was one of four survivors of the 1527 Narváez expedition.
Camp de Thiaroye1989Senegalese film about the struggle for decolonization in French Senegal depicting the Thiaroye massacre. The film was banned in France for a decade and censored in Senegal as well.
A Captain's Honor1982A courtroom-drama about a dead French Algeria Captain whose memory is publicly accused by a historian.
Catch a Fire2006A film about Patrick Chamusso andt activists against apartheid in South Africa.
Ceddo1977The film is set in the 17th century, and focuses on the conflict between traditional African customs and encroaching foreign cultures. It analyses the multi-dimensional reactions of African traditionalists to the advent of Islam, Christianity, and colonialism.
Chittagong2012Based upon events of the Chittagong armoury raid in British India.
Chocolat1988The daughter of a French colonial administrator befriends a servant in French Cameroon.
El Cimarron2007Based on the life of Marcos Xiorro who conspired and planned a slave revolt in Puerto Rico in 1821 against the Spanish Empire.
Clive of India1935Historical biographical film about the life of Robert Clive.
Cobra Verde1987A criminal called Cobra Verde is paid by a plantation owner, but Cobra Verde is sent to Africa and his fortunes change.
Columbus in America2018A film about the controversy in America surrounding the life of Christopher Columbus, an Italian official commissioned by the Spanish Crown to find an alternate commercial route to Asia by travelling West. Commentators challenge traditional representations of Christopher Columbus, bringing issues of imperialism, colonialism, racism, greed, religion, and human rights into focus.
Concerning Violence2014About the African independence movements in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Convert2023A preacher arrives at a British settlement in New Zealand in the 1830s.
Cousins2021At a young age, an Indigenous child is sent to a residential school. There, she is renamed and grows up ignorant of her Māori culture, language, and family.
Cry Freedom1986The film centres on the real-life events involving black activist Steve Biko and his friend Donald Woods.
Dispute in Valladolid1992A French telefilm about the Valladolid debate in which European authorities debated whether Indigenous peoples had a soul.
Doctrine of Recovery2022Three generations of First Nations' women speak to the ongoing destructive formula patterned by the Discovery Doctrine.
Dances with Wolves1990Fictional story of a Union soldier travelling to the American frontier and his interactions with Indigenous peoples.
Days of Glory2006French film about the contribution of colonial French North Africa's soldiers during the Second World War.
Dawn of the Damned1966French-shot film footage of their tortures, massacres and executions of Algerians.
The Descendants2011A Honolulu-based attorney and the sole trustee of a family trust of 100 km2 of pristine land on Kauai.
El Despojo2004A film about the Mapuche Indians of Chile and their struggle for self-determination.
Diamond City1949In 1870s South Africa, Englishman Stafford Parker tries to persuade Boer leader Jan Bloem to hand over control of a potential diamond field.
The Drum1938The film about British rule in India was well received in Britain but caused protests when shown in Bombay and Madras.
Elephant Walk1954A colonial tea planter takes a wife to the plantation house built by his father in Ceylon.
Embrace of the Serpent2015Two explorers traveled through the Amazon and saw the effects of colonialism on the indigenous cultures they encountered.
The Emigrants1971A Swedish film depicting poor Swedes who emigrate in the mid-19th century and claim land in Minnesota, USA.
Emitai1971A 1971 Senegalese drama film directed by Ousmane Sembène set with the Vichy government conscripting men from France's colonies.
Epitaph2015On the orders of Hernan Cortés, three Spanish soldiers travel to the Popocatepetl volcano with the task of looking for sulfur necessary for the war. The conquerors will face their fears on the journey in an inhospitable territory.
Eureka Stockade1949British film of the story surrounding Irish-Australian rebel and politician Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion of 1854 at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria.
Everything is connected2022The film tells the story of five Sixties Scoop survivors – 4 women and 1 man – all of whom had someone close to them become either missing or murdered. The film points to the inter-generational trauma of colonialism, residential schools, and the Sixties Scoop as forces that connect all of these tragedies .
Eye for Eye1918An American drama film set in the colonial Sahara Desert involving a Bedouin woman with a colonial French captain.
Exterminate All the Brutes2021The four-part series follows colonization and multiple genocides, and the effect of both, alongside imperialism and white supremacy. Based on the book Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist, An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and Silencing the Past by Michel-Rolph Trouillot.
Faces of colonialism2023Robert Lohmeyer is a photographer who captured the first color photographs of Togo, Cameroon, German Southwest Africa and German East Africa in a way that promoted colonialism.
Farewell to the King1989A 1989 American fiction adventure drama film starring Nick Nolte in which an American deserter becomes the leader of a head-hunting tribe of Dayaks.
Farha2021Film about a Palestinian girl's coming-of-age experience during the Nakba, the 1948 displacement of Palestinians from their homeland.
First Charge of the Machete1969Cuban peasants rebel against Spanish Cuba in the late 19th century.
Fitzcarraldo1982It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known in Peru as Fitzcarraldo, who is determined to transport a steamship over a steep hill to access a rich rubber territory in the Amazon Basin. The film is derived from the historic events of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald and his real-life feat of transporting a disassembled steamboat over the Isthmus of Fitzcarrald.
Five Fingers For Marseilles2017A rebellious character returns to a colonial town in South Africa after fleeing police aggression two decades before, and finds the town under a new threat.
The Flood2020An Aboriginal woman raised on a Christian mission in Australia seeks revenge.
Follow the River1995A film surrounding events after the Draper's Meadow Massacre of 1755.
The Four Feathers1939A British film about the story of a young British private during the Sudan campaign of 1898 of the Mahdist War.
Four Men and a Prayer1938A British Army Officer, is cashiered in India following accusations of dereliction of duty.
Fort Apache1948Film starring John Wayne in which the American army battles with Indigenous nations, inspired by the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Fetterman Fight.
Fort Saganne1984A European soldier of humble beginnings who volunteers for service in the Sahara in 1911.
Fury at Furnace Creek1948Troops are massacred at a Furnace Creek fort in 1880 by Apache.
Ganga Zumba1963Not released until 1972 because of a military coup in Brazil, this Brazilian film highlights Ganga Zumba, a 17th-century slave revolutionary against the Portuguese Empire.
Gandhi1982A biographical film about anti-colonial nationalist and lawyer Mahatma Gandhi's involvement in the Indian liberation movement.
Geronimo: An American Legend1993Events leading up to the surrender of Geronimo in 1886.
Ghosts of Amistad2014Ghosts of Amistad chronicles a trip to Sierra Leone to visit the home villages of the people who seized the slave schooner La Amistad in 1839, to interview elders about local memory of the case, and to search for the long-lost ruins of Lomboko, the slave trading factory where their cruel transatlantic voyage began.
Give Us Our Skeletons1999Following the 1852 Kautokeino rebellion against the Norwegian government.
Gold2017Spanish historical drama film directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes. The film is based on a short story by Arturo Pérez-Reverte and depicts a 16th century Spanish expedition during the Colonization of the Americas aiming at locating El Dorado. It is loosely inspired on expeditions by conquistadors Lope de Aguirre and Nuñez de Balboa.
Gold Coast2015In 1836 a Danish man travels to Africa to create plantations on the Danish Gold Coast.
GomBurZa2023A Philippine film about three secular priests falsely accused of inciting a anti-colonial insurrection put on a show trial and executed by strangulation during the era of Spanish imperial rule.
The Great Indian Wars1991A video series about the encroachment of European settlers upon Indigenous lands and their reaction in their struggle to survive.
Gunga Din1939This American film is a fictional story about three British Indian Army officers who fight the Thuggee, an Indian cult, in British India.
Haiti: The Way of Freedom1975The fight of the Haitian Indigenous and enslaved people for their freedom from European rule.
Headline Today: Guatemala1983A documentary about the Civil War in Guatemala from Finnish television presented by two US reporters.
Heart of Darkness1993A film based on the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad about a narrated voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State by an Ivory trader.
Heart of Whiteness2006South African filmmaker Rehad Desai travels to Orania in the Northern Cape, to investigate what it means to be white in the new South Africa.
Hernan Cortes, A Man between God and the Devil2016Biographical film about Hernan Cortes who invaded and destroyed Tenochtitlan with assistance of the rivals of the Aztecs.
Hidalgo: The story never told2010A Mexican film about the life of Mexico's liberation from Spanish colonial rule leader Miguel Hidalgo.
Hostiles2017An American revisionist Western film about a story between a US army official and a few members of Indigenous peoples within North America.
The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived1974A story of colonialism and the struggle for liberation in Oman.
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman1971A fictional story set in 16th century Brazil where rival French and Portuguese settlers are utilizing the Indigenous people as allies in their struggle to establish control.
Human Zoo: The Final Journey of Calafate2011At the end of the 19th century, four groups of Indigenous people were taken from Chile by a German businessman and were shown as animals in different fairs and public exhibitions in several Europeans cities.
Independencia2009Three generations of a family who flees American colonization and tries to survive in the jungle.
The Indian Wars: Change of Worlds2007A six part video series journeys back through history to the battles from the first settlements to the last massacre that created a change of worlds as the United States stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
If Only I Were That Warrior2015A look at the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935. Following the construction of a monument dedicated to Fascist general Rodolfo Graziani, the film addresses the unpunished war crimes he and others committed in the name of Mussolini's imperial ambitions.
In My Country2004The film is centred around the story of Afrikaner poet Anna Malan and an American journalist sent to South Africa to report about the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings.
Indian Horse2017The film centres on Saul Indian Horse, a young Canadian First Nations boy who survives the Canada's Indian residential school system to become a star ice hockey player.
Ishi, The Last Yahi1993In the early 1900s, Ishi, the last of the Yahi Indian nation in California, is discovered nearly 20 years after the Yahi tribe was thought to be wiped out.
Jedda1955Jedda is an Aboriginal girl born on a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Ka Whawhai Tonu2024The siege of Ōrākau in 1864 during the New Zealand Wars from the perspective of the Māori.
Kalushi2016A story based on true events about Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, a nineteen-year-old that goes into self-exile following the 1976 Soweto uprisings to join the liberation movement.
Kartini2017About Kartini a prominent Indonesian activist who advocated for women's rights in Dutch Indonesia.
Khartoum1966The film is based on historical accounts of Gordon's defence of the Sudanese city of Khartoum from the forces of the Mahdist army, during the 1884–1885 Siege of Khartoum.
Killers of the Flower Moon2023A series of Indigenous murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal land. Based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name.
Kim1950Based on the classic 1901 novel of the same name by Rudyard Kipling.
King of the Khyber Rifles1953Adventures of a British military man during the British Raj.
King Leopold's Ghost2006A film about the exploitation of the Congo by King Leopold II of Belgium.
King Solomon's mines1937Based on the 1885 novel of the same name by Henry Rider Haggard.
The Kitchen Toto1988In Kenya in 1950, a British policeman takes a murdered black priest's son to live with him at his home as a houseboy.
Kongo: 50 years of independence of Congo2010Documentary series on the history of the Congo from the 15th century to 21st century.
Kroktoa2017An aboriginal youth is taken to serve a colonial administrator in Cape Colony.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India2001A Hindi-language musical film about a fictional colonial-era cricket competition that pits desperate but untrained villagers against an amateur but seasoned British cricket team. In the midst of a harsh drought, the stakes are a doubling or cancellation of the agricultural tax.
Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee1994The film is based on Mary Crow Dog's autobiography Lakota Woman, wherein she accounts her involvement with the American Indian Movement and relationship with Lakota medicine man and activist Leonard Crow Dog.
The Lion Has Seven Heads1970In the late 1960s, a white preacher in Africa fights a Latin American revolutionary.
Lion of the Desert1981Historical epic war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Regio Esercito and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani.
Little Bird2023The series centres on a First Nations woman who was adopted during the Sixties Scoop, as she attempts to reconnect with her origins.
La Llorona2019Former Guatemalan dictator and military general Enrique Monteverde is convicted for directing the genocide of native Mayans in 1982–83. He is terrorized by ghosts from the past and present, and becomes ill.
The Last of the Mohicans1920An American film adapted from James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 fictional novel of the same name.
Last of the Mohicans1992Based on the 1826 novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper.
Last Stand in the Philippines1945Spanish biographical war film directed by Antonio Román.
The Last Supper1976A colonial plantation owner during Spanish colonial times recreates the last supper using slaves, in order to teach them about Christianity.
The Last Tasmanian: Extinction1980Tells the story of the European colonization of Tasmania and the ultimate fate of the Tasmanian people.Video
Latin History for Morons2018In this one-man Netflix show, John Leguizamo finds humor and heartbreak as he traces 3,000 years of Latin history in an effort to help his son find his identity and deal with abuse.
The Liberator2013A Spanish–Venezuelan about the life of Simon Bolivar.
Little Big Man1970A white man who was raised by members of the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century and then attempts to reintegrate with American pioneer society.
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer1935An American film about a group of British cavalrymen trying to defend their stronghold and headquarters at Bengal against enemy forces during the period of the British colonial rule in India.
Lousy Little Sixpence1983Film about the stolen generations in Australia.
Lumumba2000Biographical film directed by Raoul Peck. The film depicts the rise and fall of Patrice Lumumba, and is set in the months before and after Congo-Léopoldville achieved freedom from Belgium in June 1960.
Lumumba: Death of a Prophet1991Award winning film about the life of Patrice Lumumba.
A Man Called Horse1970An English aristocrat who is captured by the Sioux people.
Man to Man2005In 1860, Victorian scientists capture a pygmy couple during an expedition in Central Africa.
The Man Who Would Be King1975Two military veterans roam India during the British Raj and one of them is taken for a god by the locals, with the ensuing chaos.
Malintzin: The Story of an Enigma2019Film about the story of an Indigenous woman called Malintzin or La Malinche, who was the translator of Hernán Cortés back in 1519 when his warriors started the project to conquer Tenochtitlan.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom2013A film based on the autobiographical book Long Walk to Freedom by anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Manganinnie1980An Australian film set in the Black War of 1830 in Van Diemen's Land. Manganinnie, a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman, survives a raid and searches for her tribe with the company of a lost white girl.
Max Havelaar1976Based on the 1860 novel Max Havelaar by Multatuli.
Meek's Cutoff2010Frontier guide Stephen Meek led a wagon train through the Oregon desert along the Meek Cutoff in the United States.
Michael Collins1996Michael Collins is a leading figure in the early-20th-century Irish struggle for independence against Britain.
Miranda Returns2007The struggle for Venezuela's independence and Francisco de Miranda in South America.
The Mission1986Based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal.
Mister Johnson1990A Nigerian who works as a clerk for the British colonial civil service and adopts the style of the British colonialists in the belief that he is a true Englishman.
Mother Dao, the Turtlelike1995A film about Dutch colonialism in Indonesia during the early 20th century.
The Naked Prey1966An adventurer in colonial Africa is hunted by an angry tribe.
Namibia: Genocide and the Second Reich2005In 1904–1908, three quarters of the Herero nation and half of the Namaqua nation of the German colony of Namibia were killed in the Herero and Namaqua genocide, many in concentration camps. This BBC film tells this forgotten story and its links to German racial "theories".
Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation2007An epic film on the Namibian liberation struggle against South African occupation as seen through the life of Sam Nujoma, the leader of the South West Africa People's Organisation and the first president of the Republic of Namibia.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog2017The film was primarily shot on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which borders South Dakota and Nebraska. The film is notable for a climatic scene shot at Wounded Knee where the Wounded Knee Massacre happened in 1890. The film stars Chief Dave Bald Eagle in the lead role as a Lakota elder.
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero2004A biographical film about Subhas Chandra Bose who fought for Indian independence against the British Raj by forming the Indian National Army with the help of Japan.
The New Land1972The Swedish film depicts the struggles of the European migrants to establish a settlement in North America.
The New World2005Largely fictionalized retelling of the relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas.
The Nightingale2018An Australian film set in 1825 in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, depicting the story of an Irish woman trying to avenge her husband during the Black War.
NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui2021The 1863 invasion of the Waikato in New Zealand.
Older than America2008A drama film about the atrocities that took place at an American Indian boarding school.
Once Upon a Time... The Americas1991A French animated TV series directed by Albert Barillé. An episode on the Spanish Golden Age was censored in Spain.
Once Were Warriors1997Award winning film that explores the effects of the colonisation of New Zealand suffered by Māori.
The Only Good Indian2009In the early 1900s, a Kickapoo youth is taken from his family and forced to attend a distant American Indian boarding school, designed to achieve to his assimilation into western society.
The Other Conquest2000The film is a drama about the aftermath of the 1520s Spanish Conquest of Mexico told from the perspective of the Indigenous Aztec people. It explores the social, religious, and economic changes brought about by a historical process of colonization that both defined the American continent.
An Outpost of Progress2016A film based on An Outpost of Progress by Joseph Conrad based upon his experiences in the Congo.
Outside the Law2010A drama about the Algerian struggle for independence from France after World War II.
The Pearl Button2015The documentary examines the fate of two persecuted groups in Chile - the indigenous peoples and the victims of Pinochet.
Pedjuang1961Film about protagonists of 1947 Indonesian war of liberation.
Plains: Testimony of an Ethnocide1971A film on the massacre of Indigenous peoples in the Colombian east plains in 1970.
Planter's Wife1952Set in the Malayan Emergency and a campaign of sustained attacks by insurgents.
El Presidente: General Emilio Aguinaldo Story and the First Philippine Republic2012Emilio Aguinaldo's efforts to coordinate colonial resistance against the Spanish.
Princess Kaiulani2009The life of Princess Kaiulani of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi struggling for independence from the United States.
Quilombo1984Account of Quilombo dos Palmares, a 17th-century Brazilian community of escaped slaves within the Portuguese Empire. Features its one-time leader, Zumbi.
Rabbit-Proof Fence2002Award-winning film that illustrates the official child removal policy that existed in Australia between 1905 and 1967. Its victims now are called the "Stolen Generations".
Radiance1998The story of three sisters in the context of Australia's Stolen Generations.
Rebellion2011Film about the Ouvéa cave hostage taking by Indigenous rebels.
Reclaiming History2024Documentary about the role of German and Belgian colonialism in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
Red Island2023Follows a ten-year-old boy and his family stationed in a French military base in Madagascar.
Reel Bad Arabs2006A film based on the book of the same name by Jack Shaheen, which also analyzes how Hollywood misrepresents the image of Arabs. The film analyzes 1,000 films that have Arab and Muslim characters, produced between 1896 and 2000.
Remember the Children2022This film is about the children who perished at the Rapid City Indian Boarding School, one of more than 400 American Indian boarding schools. The school operated from 1898 to 1933.
The Revenant2015A member of an American frontier fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival in North America, while trying to avenge his Indigenous family.
River Queen2005The film takes place in New Zealand in 1868 during Titokowaru's War phase of the New Zealand Wars between the Māori and New Zealand colonial forces.
Rhodes of Africa1936British biographical film charting the life of Cecil Rhodes.
Robinson Crusoe1954Fictional account of a castaway who spends years on a remote tropical desert island encountering cannibals before being rescued.
Romero1989A biographical film depicting the story of Salvadoran Archbishop Óscar Romero, who organized peaceful protests against the violent military regime.
RRR2022Fictional account of two Indian revolutionaries who befriend each other and fight against the British Raj.
Rhymes for Young Ghouls2013Film that takes place in the context of a reservation and a Canadian residential school.
Safari1956An American white hunter is on a safari, and Mau Mau rebels attack his farm.
Sambizanga1972A film about the colonial liberation movement in Angola against the Portuguese Empire.
Sami Blood2016A Sami youth is exposed to racism and phrenological examinations in her boarding school.
Samson and Delilah2009The film depicts two Indigenous Australian 14-year-olds living in a remote Aboriginal community.
Sanders of the River1935A British film set in Colonial Nigeria depicting the experience of a district officer.
Sarraounia1986Battle of Lougou between queen Sarraounia and the advancing French Colonial Forces of the Voulet-Chanoine Mission in 1899.
The Searchers1956An American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, set during the Texas–Indian wars, and starring John Wayne as a middle-aged Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his niece abducted by Comanches.
Seargants Three1962A remake of Gunga Din.
The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back1985It details the persecution of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders throughout Australia's history.
The Secret Nation1989An Indigenous man returns to his Aymara community from which he was expelled long ago.
The Seekers1954Maoris attack an English settlement in New Zealand.
Shaka Zulu1986A historical account on the life of the Zulu King Shaka.
Shangani Patrol1970A last stand fought by the British South Africa Police in the First Matabele War.
Shout at the Devil1976Based on a novel by Wilbur Smith which is very loosely inspired by real the sinking of the SMS Königsberg.
Simba1955A British family living in East Africa, who become embroiled in the Mau Mau Uprising.
Sitting Bull1954Depicts the war between Sitting Bull and the American forces, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Six Hours in Yogya1951Recapture of the town of Yogyakarta from Dutch forces in March 1949.
Smoke Signals1998A coming of age film set on the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation in Plummer, Idaho.
The Sleeping Dictionary2003During the 1930s, British colonial officer John Truscott journeys to a remote village in colonial Malaysia to educate and Westernize the local Iban population.
Soldier Blue1970Inspired by events of the 1864 Sand Creek massacre in the Colorado Territory, USA.
Something of Value1957It shows the colonial and native African conflict caused by colonialism and differing views on how life should be lived. It stars Rock Hudson as the colonial and Sidney Poitier as the native Kenyan. The two men grew up together but have drifted apart at maturity.
The Sons of the Great Bear1966A German revisionist Western film that turned the traditional American "Cowboy and Indian" conventions on their head, casting the Indigenous peoples as the heroes and the American Army as the villains.
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale1994Based on the life of Squanto upon the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620.
Stealing a Nation2004A 2004 film about the British–American clandestine operation that saw the expulsion of the Chagossian population who have lived on Diego Garcia and neighbouring islands.
Stolen2024A Sámi girl seeks revenge against a poacher.
Sundown1941British colonial authorities fight against fascist forces in Africa.
Sun Never Sets1939American drama film about British colonialism in Africa.
Sweet Country2017Set in 1929 in the Australian Northern Territory against the backdrop of a divided society.
Tabataba1988Film about the Malagasy Uprising, a nationalist rebellion against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
The Territory2022It follows a young Indigenous leader of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people fighting back against farmers, colonizers and settlers who encroach on a protected area of the Amazon rainforest.
Thunder Bay2023Film series about the murder of Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay, Canada.
Thunderheart1992The film is a fictional portrayal of events relating to the Wounded Knee incident in 1973.
Tjoet Nja' Dhien1988A film about Acehnese guerrilla leader Cut Nyak Dhien in conflict with the Dutch colonial army.
Toussaint Louverture2012French historical film based on the life of Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian emancipation revolution against French colonial rule.
The Tracker2002In outback Australia, a colonial policeman gets help from an Indigenous Australian tracker to locate the murderer of a Western woman.
Tula: The Revolt2013In 1795 on Curaçao, then a Dutch colony, a slave uprising takes place.
Twice Colonized2023Aaju Peter is an Inuk lawyer and activist who has lived in both Greenland and Nunavut working for the enforcement of Inuit rights.
Two Mementos1985A man joins the anti-Dutch freedom movement in the 1930s.
Utopia2013Written, produced and presented by John Pilger and directed by Pilger and Alan Lowery, that explores the experiences of Aboriginal Australians in modern Australia. The title is derived from the Aboriginal homeland community of Utopia, Northern Territory.
Utu1983Partly inspired by events from Te Kooti's War, the film tells of a Māori scout setting out to get utu on colonial forces after the destroy his home village. The film is set in 1870.
Unsettled2021The series centres on a First Nations woman in Canada who was adopted during the Sixties Scoop.
Veera Puran Appu1978Film about Veera Puran Appu and the Matale rebellion in 1848 for the freedom from British.
A Very British Way of Torture2022A film about the use of torture by the British colonial administration in Kenya against the Kenya Land and Freedom Army during the Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950s.
Viceroy's House2017A film about Lord Mountbatten and his involvement in the partition of India.
Waiting for the Barbarians2019A magistrate at an isolated outpost reevaluates his loyalty to his nation when an army colonel uses cruel tactics to interrogate the locals about a possible uprising.
Walkabout1971Two siblings are lost in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the help of an Aboriginal boy they meet on his walkabout: a ritual of his culture.
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale2011An indigenous group the Seediq people living in Taiwan find their way of life threatened.
We of the Never Never1982Jeannie, an educated woman from the upper-middle class of society, adapts to life in the outback of Australia.
We Were Children1992A 2012 Canadian film about the experiences of First Nations children in the Canadian Indian residential school system.
West of Zanzibar1954A British film sequel to Where No Vultures Fly.
When the Mountains Tremble1983Documentary about the war between the Guatemalan Military and the Mayan Indigenous population.
Where the Green Ants Dream1984Based on a true story about Indigenous land rights in Australia about a land feud between a mining company and the local Aboriginal people.
Where the Spirit Lives1989A 1989 television film about Aboriginal children in Canada being taken from their society to attend residential schools for assimilation into alien mainstream culture.
White Material2009A white French farmer runs a failing coffee plantation in an unnamed African country.
White Sun of the Desert1970A Russian 1970 'Eastern' or Ostern fictional film of the Soviet Union.
White Mischief1987Based upon the non-fiction book White Mischief: The Murder of Lord Erroll by James Fox.
Wildhood2021A young man is raised disconnected from his maternal Mi'kmaq heritage by his abusive white father.
The Winds of the Aures1966An Algerian widows struggles as the colonial war destroys her family.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley2006A film about the Irish War of Independence.
Zabana!2012Film about Algerian freedom fighter Ahmed Zabana.
Zama2017An Argentinian film set in the late 18th century in a remote South American colony under the Spanish Empire, and portrays the period's "naturalness of slavery".
Zulu1964A 1964 British epic war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879.
Zulu Dawn1979A 1979 British epic war film depicting the Battle of Isandlwana between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879.
500 Años2017Film about the trial of Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt for the Guatemalan genocide.
4992020Exploration of the legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico, 500 years after the Spanish conquest.
14912017Series based on best-selling book "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" by Charles C. Mann.
1492: Conquest of Paradise1992The travels of Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on Indigenous peoples in the Americas.

Related documentaries

Imagining Indians : a 1992 film produced and directed by Indigenous filmmaker, Victor Masayesva Jr.. The film attempts to reveal the misrepresentation of Indigenous culture and tradition in Classical Hollywood films through interviews with different Indigenous actors from various tribes in North America. Inventing the Indian : a 2012 BBC film that explores the stereotypical view of Indigenous peoples in the United States in cinema and literature.Reel Injun : a 2009 Canadian film directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes that covers the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in film.