2024 Awards Ceremony

Youth Creating Change held its 12th annual Directing Change Film Contest Awards Ceremony at the historic United Theater on Broadway on Tuesday, May 21st. The event was attended by almost 800 middle school and high school students, parents, contest judges, mental health providers, and entertainment professionals. The event celebrated excellence in mental health storytelling and included screenings of youth-created films from across California, a youth musical performance, announcement of statewide contest winners, and a range of esteemed guest speakers and presenters.

Youth films created for the Directing Change Film Contest will help raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.

• View clips from the ceremony on Facebook Live
• View the statewide winning films
• View photos from the event

Youth films were submitted to one of the following categories: Suicide Prevention, Mental Health, Through the Lens of Culture, Walk in Our Shoes, Animated Short, or Hope & Justice. For 2024, the contest received 1,315 60-second film submissions from 3,810 young people from 209 schools and community-based organizations, representing 37 counties and the Tri-City area. As part of contest judging, select entries were shared with over 400 volunteer judges with backgrounds in entertainment, filmmaking, art, education, mental health, and suicide prevention.

Youth filmmakers accepting awards at the event spoke on a variety of pressing and powerful issues, including the importance of building a community of support, the way filmmaking can be used as tool to spread empathy, and how to encourage young people to reach out for help. Youth also shared perspectives on expressing their personal stories through art, what they’ve learned about prioritizing mental health through participation in Directing Change, and why it’s vital to elevate youth voices on these topics. The event also featured a special youth performance of the original song “These Days” by Chidike John Nwanko and Jayden Mendoza from Norte Vista High School in Riverside County.

Attending presenters for the ceremony included Senior Deputy Director of the Prevention and Child Wellbeing Administration for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Mary R. Barraza; actor/musical artist Sky Katz (Surviving Summer, Raven’s Home); filmmaker Alex Heller (The Year Between), California Surgeon General Dr. Diana E. Ramos; showrunner/producer Samantha Stratton (Spinning Out); Director of the California Health & Human Services Children & Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, Dr. Sohil Sud; and Executive Director of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, Toby Ewing, Ph. D. Presenters shared their experiences with mental health and suicide prevention; provided words of encouragement, hope, and healing to the attending youth and young filmmakers; and reaffirmed the importance of teaching young people how to access mental health resources, prioritize their own well-being, and support their peers.

Presenters also shared information about statewide resources for youth, including Never a Bother and Live Beyond, two campaigns of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) – a historic investment by the state of California to that seeks to ensure all young people and families can find support for their emotional, mental, and behavioral health needs, when, where, and in the way they need it most. Together, both of these campaigns are working to increase awareness around mental health while spreading the message to youth that they are not alone and empowering them to seek help if needed.

Special guests Sky Katz, Samantha Stratton, and Alex Heller also accepted Messaging Awards for their work on Surviving Summer, Spinning Out, and The Year Between, respectively. Together, these stories – and the creators behind them – portray mental health topics carefully and authentically, helping to fight the stigma and encouraging audiences to approach these issues with empathy and understanding. Importantly, these films and shows –  along with several others honored with 2024 Messaging Awards – affirm that storytelling and advocacy are vital tools for changing norms, challenging harmful perceptions, and inspiring action toward better mental health for all.

Prior to the Awards Ceremony, youth filmmakers attended the Youth for Social Change event, where they participated in discussions called “Change Through Imagination and Storytelling,” “Directing Change Through Film and News Media,” and “Directing Change Through Music.” These discussions were facilitated by youth mentors Rylee Ambler, Jostin Grimes, Matt Walton, Chris Gordon, and Shailen Dawkins. Youth learned about how to use their creative passion and artistic talent to make a difference in their communities, both now and in their future careers.

As a nonprofit organization, Youth Creating Change needs support to continue doing this work. Please consider donating if you are able. We are also incredibly grateful for our sponsors. Thank you to Live Beyond, Blue Shield of California, The Los Angeles County Office of Education, and Kaiser Permanente!

2024 People’s Choice Award

Congratulations to our People’s Choice Award winners!

Suicide Prevention: See the Signs

Mental Health: Problem? Solution

Statewide Winners and Finalists

Suicide Prevention

Mental Health

Specialty Category

Our Event Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Live Beyond

The recently launched Live Beyond campaign was developed for and by youth and the Office of the California Surgeon General. Live Beyond focuses on raising awareness and understanding of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), toxic stress, and their impacts while promoting strategies for young people to begin their healing journey.

Thank you to the Office of the California Surgeon General and the Live Beyond campaign for sponsoring this event, and for your commitment to supporting the emotional, mental, and behavioral health needs of California’s children, youth, and families. For more information, and to start your healing journey, visit livebeyondCA.org.

Signature Sponsor

Blue Shield

Returning as our signature event sponsor is the Blue Shield of California BlueSky youth mental health initiative. Leading with equity, BlueSky provides resources for youth, families, educators, and caregivers to promote emotional well-being for youth mental health supports through access, awareness, and advocacy. The initiative works with the California Department of Education (CDE) and nonprofit organizations to improve the health and well-being for all California youth, with a focus on health inequities in communities of color.

“Congratulations to the youth filmmakers and winners of the 2024 Directing Change Film Contest. Our Blue Shield of California’s BlueSky youth mental health initiative is working to bridge the gap between mental health stigma and youth mental health support. Your unique, creative lens and voice are needed more than ever to further increase mental health awareness and accessibility to resources that are often left uncovered. We are so proud, grateful, and honored to support your one of a kind work for the fifth year. Continue to make a change in your communities.”

Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Center for Distance and Online Learning Unit

In partnership with Directing Change, The Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Center for Distance and Online Learning Unit aims to amplify student voice and leadership by providing hybrid training for teachers/students to participate in The Directing Change Film Contest. This creative partnership fosters mental wellbeing and resiliency through the Arts.  Thank you for making it possible for LA County students to attend this event!

This event was supported [in part] by grant number 6H79SM088086-01M001 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The content of this event does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Your Social Marketer

Your Social Marketer, Inc has been a Directing Change partner for many years and is passionate about having the films seen by as many people as possible to inspire much-needed conversations on these topics in our schools, families and communities. They will make a donation for every “Share and Tag” of this year’s finalists.

Kaiser Permanente

Thank you to Kaiser Permanente for their sponsorship. Their Thriving Schools initiative brings together their extensive health care expertise and partnerships with nationally recognized and trusted organizations working to support schools in becoming a beacon of health in their community.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we’re committed to creating communities where people can be healthy in all the places they live, learn, work, and play. This is especially important in schools, which is why we launched Thriving Schools, our all-in engagement to improve health for students, staff, and teachers. As part of Thriving Schools, we partner with young leaders throughout the development process to improve the health of schools. Their lived experiences and expertise on the unique pressures on today’s youth are invaluable to ensure we provide the right tools that feel safe and culturally responsive. We applaud the young filmmakers for bringing awareness to these important topics in a creative, engaging way!”