Thirty-eight years after his death, Jean-Michel Basquiat is everywhere. From T-shirts and watches to the most prestigious museums in the world, the artist’s street art-inspired style has never been so visible. Ironically, however, the more Basquiat’s popularity and influence grow, the easier it is to lose sight of the person behind the paintings. To correct this, Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman’s new documentary Jean-Michel goes back to the source for an intimate glimpse into the private life of one of the 20th century’s most iconic artists through the eyes of two of the people who knew him best: His sisters Lisane and Jeanine Basquait.

Jean-Michel is the first Basquiat documentary to be approved by the artist’s estate, as well as the first directed by a person of color. The film traces Basquiat’s early life as the child of middle-class Haitian and Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, through his adventures in the punk subculture and up to his breakout as a major American artist. All the while, special attention is paid to Basquiat’s mental and emotional state, with interviews from former friends and colleagues to supplement his sisters’ impressions. The result is a portrait unlike anything seen before.—Frédéric Boyer