BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL

Everyone knows the phrase “Black is Beautiful”. Far fewer know the photographer whose images helped give the movement its visual power.

Beginning in Harlem in the 1950s, Kwame Brathwaite devoted more than six decades to documenting Black life with an insistence that was both artistic and political. His archive—hundreds of thousands of photographs—contains intimate portraits of everyday communities alongside images of Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack and the Jackson 5.

At a time when mainstream media repeatedly framed Black communities through trauma, conflict and stereotype, Brathwaite focused on beauty, style, joy and self-determination. Working with his brother Elombe Brath through the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios, he connected photography, jazz, Pan-African politics and community organising. Their pioneering Naturally fashion shows and the Grandassa Models challenged Eurocentric standards of beauty, celebrating natural hair, African-inspired design and a proudly Black aesthetic.

For years, Brathwaite worked largely outside the recognition his influence deserved. After his son began bringing the vast archive to wider attention, his photographs found new audiences and were embraced by major artists, institutions and cultural figures. Yemi Bamiro’s documentary draws on that extraordinary body of work, family testimony and contributions from Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Gabrielle Union, Jesse Williams and photographer Tyler Mitchell.

Black Is Beautiful is not simply a portrait of an individual artist. It is a story about images as tools of liberation; about how changing what people see can change what they believe is possible. Vibrant, illuminating and overdue, the film restores Kwame Brathwaite to the history he helped create.

WHY YOU’LL WANT TO SEE IT
*A visually rich journey through an extraordinary photographic archive.
*A powerful history of the Black Is Beautiful movement and its global influence. *Features Brathwaite’s family alongside major artists and cultural figures.
*Connects Harlem, jazz, fashion, Pan-Africanism and political transformation.

AWARDS & FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
*World premiere in competition at the BFI London Film Festival, 2025.