Tan France: Beauty and the Bleach bought by Netflix

We’re thrilled that Tan France’s British debut, Cardiff Productions’ Beauty and the Bleach, has been bought by Netflix.

In this film, ‘Queer Eye’ superstar Tan France sets out to unearth the truth about colourism – where you are judged not just on the colour of your skin, but by the shade of it – and its impact on people worldwide.

When he was nine years old, Tan did something he’s regretted his whole life. He took some skin lightening cream, and began to bleach his own skin. This trend exists in black, Asian and Middle Eastern communities right across the UK and beyond. It stretches to all four corners of the globe, where light skin is in vogue, and dark is seen as undesirable.

In this personal journey, Tan delves into the roots of skin bleaching and colourism and the effect they’re having on people’s lives today. He speaks to everyone from pop icons like Kelly Rowland (of ‘Destiny’s Child’), who was once compared to the colour of a brown paper bag by a boyfriend’s grandmother, to ordinary people in Britain who have literally peeled off their own skin in a quest to be lighter.

The film is available to watch on both iPlayer and Netflix.