Black is Beautiful - The Kwame Brathwaite Story

AFS Cinema is bringing Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story to Austin on Saturday, August 1, as part of the Pan African Film Festival series. The documentary, directed by Yemi Bamiro, is a 2025 release and runs 1 hour and 38 minutes. It's the Texas premiere of the film, which took home Best Feature Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival 2026.

The film follows the life and work of Kwame S. Brathwaite, a Harlem-based photographer, freedom fighter, and activist who captured 500,000 photos over a 60-year career. He spent those decades celebrating the joy and beauty of African American life and helped popularize the phrase "Black is Beautiful." For a long time, his impact on Black culture was largely overlooked by history, until a recent surge in awareness brought him back into the conversation—with figures like Rihanna and Beyoncé among those recognizing his work. The documentary traces his legacy as a photographer to the greats, a collaborator in African liberation, and an archivist of Harlem.

It's a talking-head film with a heavy-hitting list of testimonials. Alicia Keys, Jesse Williams, Gabrielle Union, Tyler Mitchell, and Swizz Beatz all appear, alongside Brathwaite himself and family members Robynn and Sikolo Brathwaite. They speak to his career and the cultural shift he helped lead, so you'll hear the story from the people who knew him and the artists who grew up in the world he helped document.

The screening is at 4 PM at AFS Cinema, 6406 N I-35 Suite 3100, Austin, TX 78752. Tickets are $14 for evening shows and $11.50 for matinees, which apply to shows before 5 PM on Monday through Friday. AFS MAKE and WATCH members get $4 off, and LOVE and Impact Circle members get in free. There are also discounts for AISD educators and local high school and college students at the box office with a valid school ID.