Like most Black girls, growing up, I internalized Eurocentric beauty standards, seeing only white women’s beauty being celebrated in the media. The film exposes the pressures Black women face from a young age to “whiten” our natural features and how the mainstream beauty industry and the institution of ballet are complicit.

Combatting the negative messages the lead character Angel receives is the community of Black women who show her that Black is beautiful. This film is a sensational celebration of Black cultural identity and our hair—and especially, the sisterhood that exists between Black women, which transcends the physical world.

From the royal costumes to the elaborate hair art, this Black-women-led creative team showed the Black women and girls in our cast the royalty they’ve always been. The energy on set was electrifying, like we all knew we were capturing something special.

I feel so excited to share this film with the world and show all the little Black girls this celebration of their unique beauty!

– Alicia