2 months ago
EXCLUSIVE: Jessie Williams has boarded nan Wayfarer Studios, Misfits Entertainment and Mediawan documentary, Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, arsenic EP.
Williams joins alongside Alicia Keys and signaling creator Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean who we antecedently told you about. UTA is representing North American income connected nan docu while Mediawan Rights is handling nan remainder of nan world.
The Yemi Bamiro directed characteristic documentary, Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, centers astir photographer and activistic Kwame Brathwaite, who helped ignite nan transformative “Black Is Beautiful” movement. Starting from Harlem successful nan 1950’s and moving until his decease successful 2023, Brathwaite took half a cardinal photos including galore of “regular” group connected nan thoroughfare but besides thousands of friendly and unexpected photos of stars including Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Nina Simone, and nan Jackson Five. Brathwaite’s photography captured sublime moments crossed fashion, activism, music, and creation successful a 60 year-plus career.
“The activity of Kwame Brathwaite sits atop an expanded meaning of activism. He showed america that affirming Black beauty, archiving our truth and civilization while shaping really we spot ourselves successful time, is besides resistance. That’s why I joined this unthinkable filmmaking team; taste activity is everlastingly frontline activity that doesn’t conscionable situation aesthetics, it challenges power. Together, we tin amplify a bequest that carries our communicative guardant by highlighting its foundation,” said Williams.
Williams is presently shooting play 5 of Apple TV’s award-winning The Morning Show opposite Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass. He’s playing Vernon, nan newest caput of UBN news. Williams is simply a 2022 Tony nominee successful nan Featured Actor Play class for his Broadway debut successful nan Tony-winning Take Me Out. The prima of Amazon Prime’s Hotel Costiera, Max’s The Great Lillian Hall and Hulu’s Only Murders successful nan Building, has produced specified projects arsenic nan 2020 Academy Award-winning short Two Distant Strangers (Netflix), Norman Lear’s EPIX docuseries America Divided and nan 2025 Sundance short Hoops, Hopes and Dreams, which premiered connected Hulu this past January. He is known for his long-running domiciled arsenic Dr. Jackson Avery connected ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.
Williams besides joins Wayfarer Studios’ CEO Jamey Heath and Misfits Entertainment’s Andee Ryder arsenic EPs connected nan docu on pinch Robin Bronk for The Creative Coalition and Kwame S Brathwaite and Robynn Brathwaite connected behalf of The Kwame Brathwaite Archive. Producers see Andrew Calof connected behalf Wayfarer Studios, Joanna Boateng, Ian Bonhôte and Lizzie Gillett for Misfits, Mediawan Rights and Entourage Media.
