The Body Beautiful

The story

This bold, stunning exploration of a white mother who undergoes a radical mastectomy and her Black daughter who embarks on a modeling career reveals the profound effects of body image and the strain of racial and sexual identity on their charged, intensely loving bond. At the heart of Onwurah’s brave excursion into her mother’s scorned sexuality is a provocative interweaving of memory and fantasy. The filmmaker plumbs the depths of maternal strength and daughterly devotion in an unforgettable tribute starring her real-life mother, Madge Onwurah.

Cast & crew

Madge Onwurah

Madge OnwurahNarrator (voice) Mother/Herself

Rosie RowellNarrator (voice) Daughter

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le BerreThe Daughter (as Sian Martin)

Brian BovellYoung Man

Maureen Douglass

Maureen DouglassYoung Mother

Valentine NonyelaPeter

Louis Altinson

Louis AltinsonCast

Linda Dobson

Linda DobsonCast

Richard Gray

Richard GrayCast

Haley McKay

Haley McKayCast

Michael McKay

Michael McKayCast

Nina McKay

Nina McKayCast