Short film research: Kiss Chase(drama/coming of age/)

Clare follows a girl who is stated in the description to be about 11. However, the actor as well as the rest of the actors who are supposedly her age look to be about 14. She is left out of the activities of her classmates, who seem to share intimate sexual experiences they're a bit too young for. There are undertones of her being one of the only POC students there. She feels left out, until she shares an intimate experience with a male classmate she likes. That's pretty much it, this one was my least favorite. I thought the story was realistic but in terms of message and maybe morals I don't like it, it's an uncomfortable narrative, which may have been the intention? Frankly i'm not sure, regardless the story I thought was bad. The script was okay, grounded in reality to an extent. I say to an extent because the kids are a bit too openly mocking of the protag. The cinematography was okay, the camera doesn't tend to move too much, but it works. It would have benefitted rom narration, as it felt quiet often. There is barely any music, the music that was there was more prolong sound effects and didn't help push the story. The whole film seems to be using what I can only describe as a filter. It feels nostalgic, like it was being played on a VHS, so everything is a bit muted. It pushes colors, the kids all dress relatively brightly. They focus on little things, which is something I felt would work in my film. A character will fiddle with something if nervous, etc, its very 'show don't tell'. There were a lot of aspects I will not be incorporating like the intimate scenes and the limited dialogue, but I like the setting feeling homey. I will make mine less muted, or plan to anyway. But maybe the nostalgia feel will work.