A Gentle Magic [Skin Segment for PSP]

A Gentle Magic explores the resurgence in skin-lightening products in South Africa as an in-road to the country’s changing social landscape. It is a film that explores the issue of skin-lightening and its history, as well as its cultural context, medical implications and possible solutions.
But far more than that, it’s a film made for black women, and for the sake of itself as art. It’s a celebration of black beauty, and a question: Why would someone want to change their skin? whose answers are multiple, contradictory and, ultimately, incomplete.
It’s also a visual poem of sorts: its cinematography is jarring, sweeping and yet intimate. After having watched A Gentle Magic, viewers will hold the film in their hearts and their eyes for days afterward.
From its very first moments, A Gentle Magic grips the viewer and doesn’t let go. Switching from the stark white walls of Cape Town to the lush green hills of the Eastern Cape, A Gentle Magic takes the viewer on a journey through South Africa, sharing stories along the way. We hear from university students, cleaners, hip-hop video vixens, skin doctors, sociologists, single mothers -- speakers of Xhosa, Zulu, Lingala, French. We are made to feel uncomfortable, sad, joyful, surprised and perplexed.
Directed by Tseliso Monaheng and Lerato Mbangeni
Produced by Susie Neilson and Graeme Aegerter
Runtime: 55 mins