Project Detail

Beauty Is...

Synopsis

Beauty Is... the film by community educator and guerrilla film maker Toyin Agbetu asks ‘what is beauty?’ and examines the answer from a philosophical position through discussions on hair, skin shade, body image and character.
It's a serious, yet often humorous cross between Chris Rock's "Good Hair" and Bill Duke/D. Channsin Berry's "Dark Girls" documentaries with some sensitive Oprah styled interviews mixed in.
The film explores the risks posed by chemical straighteners and skin bleaching, it shares insights on conditions like Vitiligo and Alopecia whilst discussing the impact of biased media on children and personal relationships.
Backed by a global campaign to challenge governments and the pharmaceutical industry, this is edutainment that may just change your life.

Details

Year
2014
Type of project
Features
Running time
122 mins 29 secs
Format
Digital
Director
Toyin Agbetu
Producer
Ligali
Co-Producer
Aleakwe Olive
Editor
Toyin Agbetu
Screenwriter
Toyin Agbetu, WigWam
Composer
Toyin Agbetu

Genre

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

The Ligali Organisation

Contact: Toyin Agbetu

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Maafa: Truth 2007 Maafa: Truth 2007

Director: Toyin Agbetu

Year: 2011

With the British government promoting an inaccurate revisionist version of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act many are determined to ensure that Truth prevails in 2007. With contributions from community activists, project workers, teachers, historians and the business community, this documentary confronts the myths about British slavery, presents the true history of the Maafa and African resistance and examines the politics of the government's bicentenary celebrations.

George Xiaoyuan Fu is lost in the moment as records an album of Schubert's late music Solitude with Schubert

Director: Matilda Hay

Year: 2025

At a time when many people struggle to talk openly about grief, SOLITUDE WITH SCHUBERT asks what role music can play in helping us live alongside loss. The film follows concert pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu as he navigates the death of his father through Franz Schubert's late works. Extending this exploration beyond himself, Fu connects with a hospice bereavement group and performs a recital for them – sharing how music can offer connection, catharsis and solace when words fall short. He then records an album with mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, reflecting on how the echoes of those we’ve loved and lost stay with us. It’s an intimate portrait of how art can offer solace and meaning, creating a space for grief to be safely felt, shared and transformed.

Ellie Jim & Adam Pearson Zero Intention of Living Quietly

Director: Edward Lovelace

Year: 2026

Defined for much of his life by other people's perceptions of his visible difference, actor Adam Pearson finds a new sense of possibility when he meets Ellie, a teenage girl living with the same genetic condition. As their unlikely friendship inspires Adam to confront the rules he's built to protect himself, he returns to the big screen and discovers that the hero he's been searching for may be himself. Official Selection Telluride Film Festival 2026 Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2026