S.O.U.L. Fest 2026: Black Is Beautiful - The Kwame Brathwaite Story

Everyone knows the phrase. Almost nobody knows the man. Working from Harlem across seven decades, photographer and activist Kwame Brathwaite captured half a million images — intimate portraits of everyday Black life alongside icons including Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali and Nina Simone — always choosing beauty and joy over trauma. He also pioneered grassroots fashion shows that heralded natural Black beauty at a time when doing so was considered a radical act.

When his son uncovered the vast archive after Kwame's death in 2023, the world caught up. Director Yemi Bamiro's exhilarating documentary traces that rediscovery, with Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Gabrielle Union, Jesse Williams and Tyler Mitchell bearing witness to the enduring power of images that dared to say: we are enough, exactly as we are.

We are delighted to welcome S.O.U.L. Fest back for 2026, once again in partnership with ABFF London, the UK home of the American Black Film Festival. Now in its eighth year, S.O.U.L. Fest has established itself as one of the most important platforms for Black British cinema.