‘Girls State’: Sundance Review

Dir: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine. US. 2024. 96mins

While it might have seemed inevitable that Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s 2020 Emmy-winning Boys State – about a week-long US programme in which young men create a democracy from the ground up – would lead to a Girls State companion piece, the result is not just a gender-flipped run over the previous territory. 

Offers a celebration of the young women alongside a consideration of everyday sexism 

This documentary, following the Missouri Girls State of 2022 held at Lindenwood University in St Charles, considers the personalities and passions of the women who attend alongside the backdrop to the whole enterprise, which saw the Boys and Girls State programmes being run on the same campus for the first time in 80 years. McBaine and Moss offer a celebration of the young women attendees alongside a consideration of the everyday sexism many encounter, and the end result should have no trouble finding an eager audience when it is released globally on Apple TV+ on April 5 following its Sundance Premieres bow

In keeping with many documentaries of this nature, it begins as we meet a group of attendees, diverse in terms of gender identity, politics and background. Among them are Nisha, Brooke and Tochi, who put themselves forward for Supreme Court roles, and Cecilia, Emily and Faith, who are vying for governor. 

Those who have seen Boys State will note differences emerging, as these teenagers are offered cake decorating and a ’bracelet station’ as part of their mixer events, and there seems much less emphasis on actual debate. The young women soon begin to suspect inequality too, as their dress code is fiercely policed, unlike the boys’, and they are told to ’buddy up’ around campus. Moss and McBaine use a squad of cinematographers, which means they get good coverage as events unfold, and a firm editorial hand from Amy Foote ensures the film moves smoothly from one arc to the next. 

As the questions of how seriously the Girls State is being taken by organisers in comparison to the boys’ equivalent bubble beneath, the serious business of the Supreme Court staffing finally gets underway. Straight-to-camera insights from the various participants are mixed with footage of them forming friendships with one another, which also captures a willingness to debate issues without falling out.

The Supreme Court case they are contesting, meanwhile, tackles the hot button issue of women being forced to take counselling before having an abortion and unfolds as real world rumours of the overturning of Roe Vs Wade are swirling. While a lot of the Boys State debates about things like gun ownership felt more notional, when it comes to issues of women’s health these young people have real skin in the game, and are all too aware that the real-world debates are still dominated by men.

Later in the film, stress levels mount as the candidates for governor give stump speeches. Some of the girls find their confidence blossoming while others discover they are not quite the big fish they thought they were when swimming in a bigger pond. While it is not a major surprise to find out the girls seem to be treated less seriously than the boys, it is quite shocking how overt the organisers are about it. There is a disparity in terms of the cash spent but, more egregious is the manner in which real-life politicians are seen with the lads, while the lasses must make do with pep talks and each other.

The compromises women often make for success – namely to accept what they are given and not ask for more – are brought sharply into focus by a potential scholarship that is up for grabs, which could act as an incentive not to upset the status quo. These young women, however, want to real change and though they approach it with an eye on the politics, it is reassuring to see they refuse to be short-changed in the process.