Actress Mädchen Amick, Director Lisa Klein and Youth Filmmakers from Across California Honored for Directing Change in Mental Health

Winners of the 6th annual Directing Change Program & Film Contest were announced today at an awards ceremony at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Honors were handed out to youth filmmakers from across California for their short films to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. Actress and mental health activist, Mädchen Amick, star of The CW’s Riverdale, and documentary filmmaker Lisa Klein were honored for their efforts to end the stigma and fear around mental health and suicide.

Presented by the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA) and Each Mind Matters: California’s Mental Health Movement, the Directing Change Program & Film Contest empowers young people to start important conversations in their community by creating 60-second films about suicide prevention and mental health. This year the film contest received 742 submissions, representing 2,430 youth from 164 schools and organizations across the state. Entries were judged by nearly 300 advocates and professionals in mental health and suicide prevention, members of the media, and television and film professionals.

Awards were given in several categories, including Mental Health Matters, Suicide Prevention, Through the Lens of Culture and SanaMente, categories focused on the experience of diverse communities, and Animated Short, a new category introduced this year. To view films and for a complete list of statewide and regional winners, honorable mentions and special recognitions, visit directingchangeca.org.

The awards ceremony also celebrates outstanding achievement by directors, producers and actors of film and television who serve as role models to the aspiring student filmmakers in the audience by using their platform to draw attention to mental health. Mädchen Amick received the Directing Change Award of Excellence for Mental Health Advocacy to acknowledge her tireless efforts to raise awareness, fight stigma and increase mental health care access. Director and writer Lisa Klein was honored for THE S WORD, a documentary film about suicide that explores the shame and confusion contrasted with an emerging era of activism, recovery and hope.

Cheering on the honorees and filmmakers were family, classmates and an audience of more than 1,100 students from 15 Los Angeles-area middle and high schools. The ceremony also included a musical performance by William Pete Knight High School from Palmdale, CA.

The statewide winners of the 2018 Directing Change Film Contest are as follows:

High School Mental Health Matters

1st Place: “Scribbled”
Riverside County
Encore High School
Filmmakers: Sophia, Perrin, Isaiah, Zoey & Riley
Advisor: Jared Nelson

2nd Place: “Hear the Music”
Orange County
Canyon High School
Filmmaker: Victoria Neller
Advisor: Alex Graham

3rd Place: “I Am Not Ashamed”
Butte County
Pleasant Valley High School
Filmmakers: Connor Ricketts & Eli Martin
Advisor: Michael Peck

High School Suicide Prevention

1st Place: “Dear Friend”
Orange County
Foothill High School
Filmakers: Rya Partible, Isaac Silva, & Amelie Phua
Advisor: Chris Price

2nd Place: “Silence”
Butte County
Pleasant Valley High School
Filmmakers: Dylan Miner & Chase Sisneroz
Advisor: Michael Peck

3rd Place: “Don’t Be Afraid to Ask”
Orange County
Canyon High School
Filmmakers: Isaac Resurreccion, Matthew Bachor & Lance Hahn
Advisor: Alex Graham

Youth and Young Adult - Mental Health Matters

1st Place: “Together We Conquer”
Butte County
Butte Community College
Filmmakers: Nathan Hitchman & Melissa Roetto
Advisor: Michael Peck

Youth and Young Adult - Suicide Prevention

1st Place: “Ob(li)vious”
Riverside County
Riverside Community College
Filmmakers: Yasmine Torres & Jazmine Maldonado
Advisor: Scott Hernandez

Through the Lens of Culture – Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Matters

1st Place: “A Mormon Perspective”
Contra Costa County
San Ramon Valley High School
Filmmaker: Tia Stout
Advisor: Kirsten Drake

1st Place: “Time to Speak Up”
Fresno County
Clovis East High School
Filmmakers: Caitlin Luster, Meghan White & June Vang
Advisor: Derrick “The Star” Davis

SanaMente

1st Place: “Nunca Solo”
Butte County
Pleasant Valley High School
Filmmakers: Preston Lopez & Nick Weiss
Advisor: Michael Peck

Animated Short

1st Place: “Behind the Mask”
Sacramento County
Franklin High School
Filmmaker: Alea Cayabyab
Advisor: Brad Clark

2nd Place: “Reach Out”
Alameda County
Foothill High School
Filmmaker: Claire McNerney
Advisor: Heather Richey

3rd Place: “Red Flags”
Sacramento County
Franklin High School
Filmmaker: Christy Huang
Advisor: Brad Clark

4th Place: “It Only Takes One”
Riverside County
Valley View High School
Filmmakers: Max Torres, Cameron Gamboa & Alex Duran
Advisor: Chris Lorenz

5th Place: “Reach Out”
Sacramento County
Franklin High School
Filmmaker: Erika Rylander
Advisor: Brad Clark

About Directing Change

The Directing Change Program & Film Contest is part of Each Mind Matters: California’s Mental Health Movement. The program offers young people the exciting opportunity to participate in the movement by creating 60-second films about suicide prevention and mental health that are used to support awareness, education and advocacy efforts on these topics. Learning objectives surrounding mental health and suicide prevention are integrated into the submission categories of the film contest, giving young people the opportunity to critically explore these topics. Program participants - whether they are making a film, acting as an adult advisor, or judging the films are exposed to appropriate messaging about these topics, warning signs, how to appropriately respond to someone in distress, where to seek help, as well as how to stand up for others who are experiencing a mental health challenge. In addition, schools and organizations are offered free prevention programs and educational resources. For more information visit www.directingchange.org.

About the California Mental Health Services Authority (CalMHSA)

CalMHSA is a partnership of California counties working together to prevent mental illness and promote mental health by implementing Prevention and Early Intervention programs that are a critical part of the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63). The Directing Change Program & Film Contest is one of numerous programs that are part of comprehensive statewide efforts to prevent suicide, reduce stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, and to promote the mental health and wellness of students. For more information, visit www.calmhsa.org.

*Photos available upon request.

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