new movie ‘charcoal’ boldly tackles colorism, colonial trauma & racial beauty standards

White supremacist beauty standards are a global phenomenon, though often overlooked in conversations of race and gender. Charcoal, a short film written and directed by Francesca Andrewhich, is here to change that.

The film is a bold exploration of colorism in the black community, and has been nominated for various awards and will be shown at international film festivals like the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (September 20 & 22) and Yonkers Film Festival (November 3 – 8), and has already won for Best Short at Film Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival, a Visionary Award at Crystal Ship Mini Indie Film Festival, and a Juror’s certificate at the Women of African Descent Film Festival. Charcoal follows two black women “as they embark on a lifelong journey to overcome internalized colorism, find self-acceptance, and ultimately redemption.”

Andrewhich grew up in Haiti where skin bleaching is still a common occurance. Charcoal continues the necessary conversations addressing the colonial trauma underlying such practices, and illuminates how Black women are redefining their own beauty in the face of global anti-Blackness.

Check out the trailer below: