An aromatic polyamide, which is obtained by reacting a benzene tricarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof with a diamine compound in the presence of a terminally blocked compound having a crosslinkable group and a functional group that is reactive with a benzene tricarboxylic acid such as 1-amino-2-propanol or a derivative thereof as expressed by scheme (1), and which has a weight average molecular weight of 1,000-100,000 in terms of polystyrene as determined by gel permeation chromatography, has good solubility in organic solvents, while maintaining heat resistance and transparency. A thick film can be formed using a film-forming composition that contains this aromatic polyamide.