Groundbreaking but Grounded: Why This Doc Matters Now

How do you film the invisible scars of the soul? In her stirring documentary short Grounded: Creating Space for Black Peace, director Brittney Brackett dares to wrestle with this question — and, remarkably, delivers answers as hopeful as they are heartbreaking.

Brackett, a veteran TV host and producer now forging her path as an award-winning filmmaker, crafts a cinematic meditation on the silent epidemic haunting Black and Brown communities: mental health. With an assured hand and a beating heart, she stitches together a tapestry of lived experience, cultural history, and raw testimony, inviting viewers into a space where vulnerability becomes a radical act of resistance.

The film isn’t just a viewing experience but a spiritual breath. Each interview, each slice-of-life moment feels less like reportage and more like a communal exhale long overdue. Brackett illuminates how trauma — both generational and personal — shapes the mental landscape of youth and teens. But rather than linger in despair, Grounded pivots to a place of power: showcasing the transformative role of the performing and healing arts as pathways to peace.

Yet beneath this hopeful current runs a sharper critique: our schools, too often the first line of defense, are starved of the resources needed to support fragile minds.

Of course, no film is without its rough edges. At times, the pacing stumbles, and inconsistent cinematography and sound design occasionally distract from the story’s emotional flow. But these minor stutters pale against the force of Brackett’s vision. The editing, writing, and dynamic emotional beats land with precision.

Metaphorically speaking, Grounded is a garden tended with love: not every bloom is perfect, but the fragrance of hope lingers long after the credits roll.

And therein lies its power. This isn’t a documentary designed to impress with technical bravado. It’s one meant to move you — to make you feel, think, and act. Isn’t that what art is for? Isn’t that what the community demands?

Brackett’s voice is one we need in the conversation about mental health and racial equity. And if Grounded is any indication, her cinematic flight has only just begun.