{"id":38195,"date":"2025-11-13T12:58:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/38195\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:58:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T12:58:11","slug":"the-kwame-brathwaite-story-is-two-films-at-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/38195\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kwame Brathwaite Story\u201d is two films at once"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yemi Bamiro\u2019s \u201cBlack Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story\u201d<\/a> tries to be two films at once \u2014 one about the meaning and legacy of \u201cBlack is Beautiful,\u201d and another about Kwame Brathwaite, who gave that phrase its visual soul. Somewhere between these threads, the film loses focus, resulting in a documentary that\u2019s visually arresting yet narratively adrift, leaving the audience longing for a deeper, more personal story behind the lens.<\/p>\n

The film would have benefited from centering on Brathwaite himself, told through the archives of his work. His images are everywhere, capturing the beauty of African American life and fueling the \u201cBlack is Beautiful\u201d movement, but the documentary offers little insight into the man behind the camera. Brathwaite\u2019s photos didn\u2019t just document change \u2014 they sparked it. Yet the film rarely explores his creative process or personal journey. <\/p>\n

By emphasizing broader political themes and celebrity commentary, the narrative often feels split, with style overshadowing substance and missed opportunities for emotional depth.<\/p>\n

The cast of interviewees includes Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Gabrielle Union, Jesse Williams, and Tyler Mitchell. Each lends personal perspective and emotional weight to the documentary, but their contributions add sheen rather than genuine insight.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an extraordinary portrait waiting in Brathwaite\u2019s archives \u2014 a vision that could have captured the quiet genius who dignified Black beauty before it was widely acknowledged. Instead, broader social commentary and fragments of biography compete for the spotlight. The audience is left with stunning visuals and fleeting glimpses of the man himself, never fully immersed in his creative world.<\/p>\n

Bamiro attempts to explain Brathwaite\u2019s origins, highlighting his activism in Harlem, his role in founding the \u201cBlack is Beautiful\u201d movement, and the rediscovery of his archive by his family in the 2010s.<\/p>\n

Some of Brathwaite\u2019s photographs include never-before-seen images of historic figures like Muhammad Ali, Nina Simone, and the Jackson Five.<\/p>\n

At 98 minutes, the film moves more like a music video than a well-focused documentary, missing much of the needed emotional impact. It\u2019s instructional, not inspirational.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s ironic that this film lacks focus when the need for focus is essential for a photographer \u2014 something Kwame Brathwaite demonstrated in 60 years of uncompromising photography. <\/p>\n

After six decades of shaping how we see African American life, he deserves a documentary with its lens trained solely on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story\u201d will have its North American premiere at DOC NYC Thursday, Nov. 13,\u00a0following its debut at the\u00a0BFI London Film Festival.<\/p>\n

DOC NYC Premiere details:
\nSVA Theatre \u2014 333 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011
\nDoors open at 8:45 p.m.; Screening begins promptly at 9:15 p.m.
\nRun Time: 98 minutes
\nDirected by Yemi Bamiro | DOC NYC Premiere at SVA Theatre
\nFrom the producers of \u201cWill & Harper\u201d and \u201cSuper\/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story\u201d<\/p>\n

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