BBC Set to Air New Fela Kuti Documentary 'Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat'
African revolutionary Fela Kuti has continued to be a source of inspiration for documentary filmmakers.
(Photo by David Corio/Redferns via Getty Images)
Editor's Note: This story was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for Fela Kuti's 87th birthday on Oct. 15, 2025.
When the BBC launched its documentary Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat in 2020, it promised fresh archival footage and interviews to revive interest in the late Nigerian revolutionary artist. In 2025, the film's availability on streaming platforms, new biopics of Kuti's family, and the global resurgence of Afrobeat confirm that Kuti's story is hardly settled; it's being reinterpreted, remixed and reignited for a new generation.
Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat first aired on BBC Two in 2020. Directed by fellow Biyi Bandele (Fifty, Half of a Yellow Sun) the film compiled previously unseen archival footage of Kuti, as well as interviews with those dear to him, including family, friends, collaborators, and fans of the late musician. Learn more about the documentary via BBC Two.
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Kuti's legacy as a genre-birthing artist who was vocally critical of the Nigerian government and military throughout his career has made his story particularly fitting for the documentary format, though obviously hard to capture in just one exposition. In 1982's Music is The Weapon, French director, Jean-Jacques Flori, followed Kuti from the stage to his infamous compound to interview the artist, capturing scenes from a raw and vital moment in the musician's career. And 30 years later, documentarian Alex Gibney (Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, Gonzo, Sinatra: All or Nothing At All) turned his lens to Kuti in Finding Fela. So it'll certainly be interesting to see what Bandele digs up in his own research.
Even more recently, Kuti's mother has been a source of biopic coverage, as the subject of 2024's Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. Directed by Bolane Austen-Peters, the film covers the life of the late icon's mother, an icon in her own right. Funmilayo was the first woman in Nigeria to drive a car, and founded anti-colonialist education movements.
Meanwhile, the celebration of Kuti's catalog and impact on music is continuing on multiple continents. Shortly after the release of the 2020 documentary, the musician was honored with a commemorative plaque at London's Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where Kuti studied and was first introduced to jazz in the late 1950s.
