With a vibrant ’80s aesthetic, a synth-heavy soundtrack, and a lot of hairspray, Before I Change My Mind is a poignant coming-of-age tale about being yourself in a toxically masculine world.

Alberta, Canada, 1987. Robin (Vaughan Murrae) has just moved into town with their single father and is doing their best to try and fit in. It doesn’t help that the other kids can’t figure out whether Robin is “a boy or a girl.” Ostracized at first, Robin slowly befriends Carter (Dominic Lippa), a stand-offish bully that is equally intimidating and alluring. The two start a complicated and ultimately poisonous bond, in which Robin learns the dangerous pitfalls of trying to fit in.

In his feature film debut, director Trevor Anderson — whose imaginative shorts have screened at Frameline over the past 15 years — takes a nostalgic (and at times, sobering) look back at the friends that become family right away, the ones that become a bump in the road, and those that help us understand ourselves just a little bit better.