Becoming Black (2019): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2019, Becoming Black is a documentary film directed by Ines Johnson-Spain, running about 91 minutes.

What it’s about. In the 1960s, a white couple living in East Germany tells their dark-skinned child that her skin color is merely a coincidence. As a teenager, she accidentally discovers the truth. Years before, a group of African men came to study in a village nearby. Sigrid, an East German woman, fell in love with Lucien from Togo and became pregnant. But she was already married to Armin. The child is Togolese-East German filmmaker Ines Johnson-Spain. In interviews with Armin and others from her childhood years, she tracks the astonishing strategies of denial her parents, striving for normality, developed following her birth. What sounds like fieldwork about social dislocation becomes an autobiographical essay film and a reflection on themes such as identity, social norms and family ties, viewed from a very personal perspective.

Who’s in it. Becoming Black stars Ines Johnson-Spain as Self, Armin Gundermann as Self, Madeleine Papangou Johnson as Self and Germaine Papangou Johnson as Self, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, Becoming Black sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Becoming Black page.

If you liked it. Fans of Becoming Black tend to enjoy One Direction: This Is Us, Burn the Stage: The Movie, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself - Japan Edition and Senna.