Written and directed by Aisha Ford, 12-year-old Snot and her all-Black girl scout troop are pushed to the edge by a racial slur from an all-white troop at camp. Fuelled by anger and a desire for justice, the girls plot their revenge, but their plan takes an unexpected turn. Starring: Bailey Renée, Kylah Davila, Kennedy Garcia, Nia Johnson, Mia Analise Armstrong, Selena Vaquero, Jacqueline LeGrande, Jolene Andersen and Trisha Mann.

It’s not often you see a complicated conversation about bullying, prejudice and discrimination wrapped up in such a family friendly and brief package but that’s what you get with Brownies. Aisha Ford takes a fairly unique perspective with this story, creating an interesting contrast between typical, obvious discrimination as we commonly see it and smaller acts of aggression and negative behaviours. It opens up the conversation about cycles of harm, especially in an eye for an eye sense with the girls’ desire for revenge.

Perhaps its only weakness is how it chooses to close things out, it sends the right message and undoubtedly makes its point but there was an opportunity for something sharper or bolder, which was a shame to see it miss out on. It also throws in a narrative track here and there which feels a bit heavy handed, as everything that’s being said was already achieved without it. Ford also employs some use of animation, and while the work itself is well done, it doesn’t feel particularly necessary. It takes viewers out of the present which can weaken the tone.

However, Ford’s directorial style does create a wonderful tension and quickly capture the weight that lies at the foundation of this story. The editing and framing have a nice intimacy and personal nature to them, and the whole team do a wonderful job of capturing that 1980s era. Then you’ve got a great young cast to tick the rest of the boxes, with plenty of personality and charm, as well as ramping up that tension but to a level which still holds on to the family friendly atmosphere. Bailey Renée gives a strong performance in the leading role, bringing a good number of layers and portraying an understanding of the larger ramifications of what’s going on that’s a bit beyond her years.

Brownies brings a fresh perspective to bullying and discrimination in pre-teens and makes a great point about how it can be a continuing and reciprocal cycle, something still very relevant despite the short being set decades ago. There’s an excellent young cast at its heart who bring a fierce yet charming presence to the table. Although, it does feel like there was a fantastic opportunity to go for something sharper and biting towards the end but instead Ford chose to stay in that family style with a slightly softened, sentimental tone. Outside of that, it’s a strong short film with a relevant message.

Verdict: ✯✯✯½ | 7/10

Screening on September 25 as part of the ‘Shorts Circuit’ block at Anthology Film Festival