Dear Judge,

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The entry you are judging is a 60-second film in the mental health matters category. This category has special content that must be included and specific content that must be avoided for the safety of and respect for the audience.

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Title

Invisible Ink

Grade

11

Description from the submitter

"Invisible Ink" discusses a common problem among many high school students, which is feeling the need to mask our emotions and hide how we really feel. This is shown via a metaphor of students turning into animated cartoons to cover their true selves.

1. Does the film tell a story that encourages young people to reach out for support when they need it and/or shows them how to support others?

• Talk openly: The film can emphasize that it is acceptable to talk about mental health challenges, and to support friends and loved ones with such challenges.
• Stand up for others: The film can demonstrate the importance of young people standing up for themselves or those living with a mental health challenge who are being harassed, bullied, and excluded or in some other way discriminated against. This may also include interactions in online communities (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, texting).
• Be Supportive: Show ways in which friend or family members can support someone experiencing a mental health challenge.
• Join the mental health movement: This is a young adult’s issue: mental health challenges most often show up between the ages of 14‐24. The film could inspire young people across California to join the mental health movement.
• Get the facts and understand the issue: The film could illustrate that a diagnosis of mental illness does not define a person and/or debunk the negative misconceptions about mental illness.
• Don’t wait to get help: The film can let people know that there is help out there for people living with a mental illness. That treatment and support work and that most people who experience a mental health challenge can recover especially if treated early.