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It generated much discussion and debate leading up to and after its release in 2011/2012; “Dark Girls” the documentary directed by Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, frankly tackles colorism within the black community, featuring interviews with celebrities as well as non-celebs, sharing their experiences as “Dark Girls” in America and their many struggles, notably damage to self-esteem from life-long feelings of being devalued, and the aftereffects of that.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the fall of 2011, before going on to make its TV premiere on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network a year later.

Co-director Bull Duke would go on to make a follow-up to “Dark Girls” titled “Light Girls,” which takes a look at the issue of colorism from the opposite POV, featuring stories of lighter-skinned women around the globe, in contrast to “Dark Girls” and its focus on the stories of darker-skinned women.

Also featuring a mix of celebrity women and non-celebs, “Light Girls” sought to study the advantages and disadvantages of being a light-skinned woman, tackling the question: “Does light skin make for an easier life?”

Both documentaries, available on various home video formats, explore skin color from historical, sociological, psychological and scientific perspectives, providing a global analysis, addressing contemporary issues like bullying, skin bleaching, and the popular “#teamlightskin versus #teamdarkskin” that was born on social media some years ago.

We’ve now learned that a sequel to the sensation that was “Dark Girls” is currently in production, directed by D. Channsin Berry (co-director of the first film, with Bill Duke). Titled “Dark Girls: Deep, Dark and Perfect,” director Berry says of the upcoming film: “I’m concentrating more on the triumphs and the beauty on dark and light skin women and girls. There will be still some stories of pain and heartache, because many women and young girls are still dealing with lack of self-esteem issues because of colorism.”

Berry’s sequel will tackle the question, “how can women and girls get to the place of healing and become their higher selves?”, the filmmaker adds.

And like the previous 2 films, “Dark Girls 2” will feature a combination of celebs and non-celebs, as well as historians, sociologists and professionals in other related fields, all sharing their experiences and recommendations on “moving past the pain.”

Berry is currently traveling mostly within the USA (although his planned stops also include Antigua, Trinidad, Belize and London), speaking with and filming subjects for the documentary, which doesn’t have a release date at this time. But you can follow its progress via the project’s Facebook page, which is updated frequently enough.

No teaser or trailer at this time. But we do have some early poster art (both above) to look at.

Light Girls

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