A claymation-style musical short · now streaming
A twelve-year-old girl spends one school day being interpreted by everyone she meets — and has to figure out who she gets to be when no one's deciding for her.
A twelve-year-old girl spends one school day being interpreted by everyone she meets — and has to figure out who she gets to be when no one's deciding for her.
Loved the film? Please donate. Mixed Up is an independent musical short, written and directed by one filmmaker. Anything you give goes straight into making the next one.
Buy me a coffeeThank you — truly.
Harper is twelve. She's mixed-race, quiet, and carries a sketchbook pressed against her chest like a small shield. Today her dad drops her off at school and asks if she's staying after for clubs. She tells him probably not.
Over the course of one ordinary school day, Harper is interpreted by almost everyone she meets — a classmate assumes she's into one thing, a coach assumes she's into another, the world keeps trying to put her into a box that almost fits.
And then she sees another kid handle a misread without flinching. Just a small moment. Just proof that there's another way to be.
Mixed Up is a quiet film with a loud heart. Three musical numbers carry what Harper can't quite say. No villain. No big speech. Just one kid, on one day, deciding she gets to be all of herself.
Mixed-race, quiet, observant. Carries a sketchbook everywhere. Sings the whole movie.
Quietly confident. Sparse with words. Has a pencil tucked behind his ear and figured this out a year ago.
White, flannel-shirted, kind. Drops Harper off in the morning. Asks the question that starts everything.
Black, warm, doesn't push. Picks Harper up at the curb. Accepts what Harper decides without ceremony.
Hulking, red-bearded, pink-capped. Tiny clipboard in his huge hands. Wants every kid to play sports.
Claymation-style textures. Sun-warmed palettes. A world that feels like a memory of a school day.
Harper walks the length of the school fence at drop-off. Every group of kids has a place. She doesn't. The question is asked. The question is not answered.
The day stacks up. Every classmate, every coach, every well-meaning adult pulling Harper one direction or another. She breaks. Defiantly.
After-school. The hallway is empty. Harper opens her sketchbook and starts drawing herself for the first time. Her parents' voices join from somewhere outside the song.
The songs are free. If they move you, buy me a coffee.
Buy me a coffeeMixed Up is out in the world. Drop your email for screening and festival news, and first word on whatever gets made next.