Movies like Sweet and Wild Africa (1982)
The best movies like Sweet and Wild Africa (1982) are Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017), Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019) and Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022). If Sweet and Wild Africa hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianMassimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023)Also in Italian
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirth of the Living Dead (2013)
A behind the scenes look into George Romero's groundbreaking horror classic Night of the Living Dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMassimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023)
The life of a dying young man at the short age of only forty-one after playing the lead in Il postino. He was a brilliant stage actor before becoming an astonishing film director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHalloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America (2022)
To mark the recent thirtieth anniversary of Sergio Leone’s death, this documentary sets out to pay tribute to one of the great legends of world cinema. The singular artistic vision of Sergio Leone has transcended national borders, creating the Spaghetti Western genre and transforming the international cinematic panorama forever with his innovative stylistic and narrative solutions, which have now become part of the language of the movies. The film, which is enriched with precious archive footage from the Cineteca di Bologna, including rare audio recordings and film clips shot behind the scenes, sees for the first time the direct participation of the Leone family and has interviews both with Leone’s longtime collaborators and with icons of Hollywood who have been profoundly influenced by his work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story (2019)
A documentary chronicling Queen and Lambert's incredible journey since they first shared the stage together on "American Idol" in 2009.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCannibals Tomorrow (1983)
It is a documentary, which submits to the public the most dramatic, subhuman situations in which men find themselves living in all corners of the world. From India to Brazil, from the African nations of the Sahel to Bolivia, the camera ruthlessly shows the images of a humanity marginalized in a thousand ways by the so-called"civil consortium".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Mondo Topless (1966)
Completely topless. Completely uninhibited. The craze that began in San Francisco is now exploding across the USA and Europe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisKwaheri: Vanishing Africa (1964)
Early Mondo film featuring primitive rituals, animals being butchered, unusual birth defects, and a legit trepanation scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Death Files (2019)
A disturbing documentary about true murders and real death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Notti calde d'Oriente (1962)
Notti Calde d'Oriente (released in English-speaking countries "Orient by Night"), the 1962 Roberto Bianchi Montero Italian mondo strip tease sexploitation documentary featuring Takeucmi Keigo and His Imperial Japanese Dancers, Bommie the International Dancer of New Orleans, Chiquita and her Jamaican Strip-Tease, The Two Jolly Sisters, and Dodo D'Amburgo the Queen of the Strip-Tease. Note that this was one of the approximately 100 "sexy nocturne" mondo style documentaries that were produced between 1959 and 1970, mainly in Italy. They are documentaries that include segments of strippers, which allowed them to include nudity that had formerly only been seen in nudist movies. The strippers are shown performing their acts, and there was an attempt to film them artistically.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Inseraten-Report (1977)
St. Pauli, prostitution by advertisement, lesbianism, whipping, satanic rituals – all that makes a young farmgirl movieng to the big city where sexual adventures await her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I piaceri proibiti (1963)
Mondo documentary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Naked England (1969)
"Mondo" sort of documentary around English customs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Sexy proibito (1963)
Mondo style documentary about European nightlife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sweet and Wild Africa?
The closest matches to Sweet and Wild Africa are Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017), Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019) and Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sweet and Wild Africa?
Start with Ex Libris: The New York Public Library (2017), the closest match to Sweet and Wild Africa.
What is the newest movie like Sweet and Wild Africa?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Sweet and Wild Africa?
Yes: Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me (2023), Sergio Leone: The Italian Who Invented America (2022) and Cannibals Tomorrow (1983).
How are movies similar to Sweet and Wild Africa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sweet and Wild Africa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.