I saw this film at the Dallas Video Festival, with several girl scouts present. Having never been a girl scout, I had my own pre-conceived notions that it is just for white middle class girls. TROOP 1500 totally turned my thinking around about the girlscouts and about women in prison. <br /><br />Director does a difficult balancing act and succeeds brilliantly; the girls are both empowered and shown to be vulnerable but they give the viewer hope. Though they are going through the worst trauma, they are strong and we are left feeling that they will succeed. Unfortunately, some of the mothers may not, but the beauty and power of the program portrayed in the film is that the girls destinies are not inextricably linked to their mothers. In addition to the incredible story of the girls and their moms and their unstoppable troop leader, this is a beautiful constructed film with a keen visual sensibilty and seamless editing style.<br /><br />While the mothers in the film are presented as the flawed characters that they are, we are given the opportunity to relate to them and understand how easy it would be to wind up in their shoes. The film has no easy answers to a complex problem but does a brilliant job at shedding light on the girls who are the real victims of harsh prison sentences. <br /><br />A MUST SEE FILM for mothers, daughters, filmmakers, prison employees and, of course, girl scouts.