Orange County

Featured Art

“Mental Heath Toolbox”

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Serrano Intermediate

Artwork by: Oceanne Fabry-Mourer

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Statewide Winners Announced in Annual Directing Change Film Contest

Statewide winners in all categories were announced by the Directing Change Program & Film Contest! Three Riverside county films (“Sensory Overload,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” and “Reaching Out”) were screened at a red-carpet award ceremony hosted at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 16th. Congratulations to the filmmakers who placed!

Orange County statewide winners:

• First Place Suicide Prevention: “That’s What Friends Are For”
• Third Place Mental Health: “Sensory Overload”
• First Place Walk in Our Shoes – What is Mental Health: “Reaching Out”
• Second Place Walk in Our Shoes – Words Matter: “Remember”
• Second Place Through the Lens of Culture: “I See You”
• Fifth Place Animated Short: “Their Room”

Orange County School Participates in Mental Health Spirit Day

Directing Change asked schools and organizations across California to take action for mental health by participating in the second annual Mental Health Spirit Day.

For their Spirit Day, Santiago Charter Middle School hosted a campus-wide event where students wore Take Action for Mental Health wristbands and lime green clothing to spread awareness of mental health. The school also held activities throughout Mental Health Awareness Month, including gratitude journaling, bracelet making, and mental health trivia. Thank you for planning these amazing events! And a big thank you to the Take Action for Mental Health campaign for sponsoring Mental Health Spirit Day.

Orange County Students Recognized for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Achievements

The Directing Change Program & Film Contest announced the regional finalists in the 11th annual student contest encouraging young people to create short films and art projects about suicide prevention and mental health.

• First Place Suicide Prevention (Region 1): “That’s What Friends Are For”
• First Place Mental Health (Region 1): “Sensory Overload”
• Second Place Mental Health (Region 1): “Always There”
• Third Place Mental Health (Tie) (Region 1): “Nothing To Be Ashamed Of”

In addition to the films above, numerous other fantastic films from Orange County also received “Honorable Mention” in their respective categories. View all 2023 winning films here.

Orange County Youth Place in February Hope & Justice Contest

February’s Hope & Justice contest asked youth to share how they are “More Than One,” reflecting on how they’re living beyond labels, how they find strength when they feel alone, and their hopes for increased representation in the future. Congratulations to the youth from Orange County who placed in the contest!

Feeling inspired? Check-out more Hope and Justice art and film submissions from Orange County youth.

• First Place Monthly Prompt, Middle School Art: “You’ll Help Me Carry On” by Olivia Kwon,
• Second Place Monthly Prompt, Middle School Art: “1’s and 0’s” by Marley LaFave
• Third Place Monthly Prompt, Middle School Art: “Beyond the Silhouette” by Isla Anderson
• Honorable Mention Monthly Prompt, Middle School Art: “Helping Hand” by Sophia Tacardon
• Into the Eye” by Sophia
• Infinite Possibilities—No Limits” by Amelie Friedrich,
• The King of the Living” by Logan Jones
• Honorable Mention Monthly Prompt, Film and Written Works: “Evolution” by Kaitlyn Wilger
• Third Place Hope and Justice: “Dandelions” by Adeleigh Giles

View the full list of February winners across California here.

Orange County Youth Place in January Hope & Justice Contest

January’s Hope & Justice contest asked youth to reflect on their hopes for 2023 and the changes they want to see in themselves and their communities. Congratulations to the youth from Orange County who placed in the contest! Feeling inspired? Check-out more Hope and Justice art submissions and film submissions from Orange County youth.

• Honorable Mention Monthly Prompt – TikTok Challenge: “Goals for 2023” by Sophie Cendejas and Jaden Cady, El Dorado High School
• Honorable Mention Monthly Prompt – TikTok Challenge: “Goals for 2023” by Jaden Cady and Sophie Cendejas, El Dorado High School

View the full list of January winners across California here.

Orange County Schools Receive Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Mini Grants

Two schools from Orange County have been selected to receive a grant through the Directing Change Program for the 2022-2023 school year. Grantees will receive support from the Directing Change team to teach lessons on mental health and suicide prevention and to facilitate the creation of youth-produced short films on these topics. At the end of the year, they will host events to screen their films and share resources around youth mental health and suicide prevention. Congratulations to this year’s grantees!

• El Dorado High School
• Savanna High School

Orange County Youth Place in November Hope & Justice Contest

November’s Hope & Justice contest asked youth to reflect on someone who has inspired them, supported them, or used their influence for good. Participants selected a “Mental Health Hero” as their focus, using their chosen artform to highlight someone who helps others see the possibilities within themselves, inspiring them to overcome and do great things with their lives. Congratulations to the youth from Orange County who placed in the contest!

• Second Place – Film and Written Works: “Coach Veronica’s Journey” by Sharon Chen, Emma Suh, Jonathan Kim, and Josiah Lee, Portola High School

View the full list of November winners here.

Orange County Students Receive First Place in Statewide Film Contest

The Directing Change Program hosted the 10th annual Awards Ceremony virtually on May 17th, 2022 at 7 p.m. The live event streamed to hundreds of people as the organization announced the statewide winners of the 2022 contest and recognized amazing youth and their inspiring films. Youth filmmakers from across California were given awards for their short films to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention in several categories, including Mental Health Matters, Suicide Prevention, Through the Lens of Culture, Walk in Our Shoes, Animated Short, and Hope and Justice. Across California, 939 films were submitted by 2434 students. Two films from Orange County students took home first place awards:

• Students Tahlia Pompel, Samantha Mar, Scarlett Martinez, and Caleb Lim from El Dorado High School were awarded the statewide first place prize in the Mental Health Matters category for their film “Alone.”
• Student Scott Hayashida from Canyon High School was awarded the statewide first place prize in the Hope & Justice – Justice category for his film “Heritage Held High.”

To watch the recorded awards ceremony, please click here.

Orange County Students Recognized for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Achievements

The Directing Change Program & Film Contest announced the regional finalists in the 10th annual student contest encouraging young people to create short films and about suicide prevention and mental health.

• First Place Suicide Prevention (Region 1): Portola High School “A Call to Macy”
• Second Place Suicide Prevention (Region 1): Santiago High School “Suicide Prevention”
• Third Place Suicide Prevention – TIED (Region 1): Woodbridge High School “One Call Away”
• Third Place Suicide Prevention – TIED (Region 1): La Quinta High School “Crowd Noises”
• First Place Mental Health Matters (Region 1): El Dorado High School “Alone”
• Second Place Mental Health Matters (Region 1): Rosary Academy “The Anxious Mind”
• First Place Hope & Justice – Justice: Canyon High School “Heritage Held High”
• Third Place Hope & Justice – Justice: NAMI “Stop Childhood Sexual Abuse”
• Fifth Place Animated Short – TIED: Samueli Academy “Know Who To Lend A Hand To”

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