New film cuts to the heart of racist micro-aggressions

Independent film and cultural content studio BADLANDS has released this anti-racism short, All The Little Things. 

Based on the real experiences of people of colour (PoC) working in the advertising and creative industry, the film is the first piece of work created as part of the studio’s RAW initiative (Racism at Work), which is volunteer-led and aims to promote openness about race and mental wellness through storytelling.

The near-four-minute film is based on an original idea from Mother creative team Christopher Medford and Bethany Jones, was written and directed by Meena Ayittey, and co-produced by BADLANDS and Great Guns and the film’s story is inspired by responses to an anonymous survey conducted by RAW which asked participants about their experiences of racism in the industry. Of the respondents, 82% had experienced some form of racism during their career, while 50% said that these experiences had been perpetrated by mid- to senior-level people. 

All The Little Things follows a young Black man as he navigates the constant micro-aggressions he faces in his place of work which takes a toll on his mental - and in terms of the film's narrative, physical - health. 

“The aim of RAW is to show how racism exists today in our industry, deal with our discomfort about race, and understand that regular racial micro-aggressions can affect our mental wellness," said Davina Rajoopillai, Co-Founder of BADLANDS and founder of RAW. "I think if we can start to address this then we'll begin to create safer work environments for people of colour employees.”