Comment on ‘Dandelion’ review: KiKi Layne blooms as frustrated singer-songwriter in delicate film

Anyone who has struggled to turn their art — the thing about which they are most passionate — into a career likely will relate to aspects of “Dandelion.” While the largely charming and effective film’s titular figure is a young Black woman attempting to make it as a singer-songwriter, it is inspired largely by writer-director Nicole Riegel’s experience of trying to make it as a filmmaker. She is most interested in exploring what it’s like to be the frustrated female artist, Riegel offering in her director’s statement: “I wanted to share how it feels to go through my artistic process in a world that quietly tells me each day that my voice does not matter.