Youth Creating Change recognizes content and creators that do an exemplary job of elevating conversations about mental health and suicide prevention annually, driven by the conviction that celebrating incredible storytelling is worthwhile and can have a positive influence on audiences, inspiring them to improve their own self-care, reach out for help, support others, and spread vital awareness in their communities.
Every year, as part of our Directing Change Film Contest, Youth Creating Change recognizes content, shows, documentaries, and movies with outstanding messaging around mental health and suicide prevention.
The Directing Change Film Contest engages students and young people throughout California to educate them on the topics of suicide prevention and mental health, and the short films and art that youth create for the program are utilized to support awareness, education, and advocacy efforts on these topics. By participating in the program, youth learn about mental wellness and warning signs, as well as how to help themselves and those around them who might be struggling.
We believe that stories are one of the most powerful tools for elevating conversations around critical health topics, changing norms, challenging harmful perceptions, and inspiring action toward more inclusive environments. When crafted with care and completed with authentic writing and characters, movies, shows, and other media can open hearts and minds to change – and can help people feel less alone.
Our 2024 Messaging Awards honorees – and the artists behind them – have gone the extra mile, creating shows and films that are well-crafted and entertaining while also encouraging viewers to imagine a future where mental health is no longer stigmatized, foster a culture of help-seeking and acceptance, and offer an open ear to those around them.
2024 Awards:
Show with Outstanding Messaging around Suicide Prevention – Reservation Dogs
Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health – Sort Of
Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health – Spinning Out
Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health – Surviving Summer
Film with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health – The Year Between
Below is some of our thinking behind these awards – aspects of these stories that impressed us, areas where their messaging is especially strong, and places where the creators behind them helped set an improved standard for depictions of mental health challenges and topics.
Reservation Dogs (2021-2023)
Award: Show with Outstanding Messaging around Suicide Prevention
Created by Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, Reservation Dogs is a trailblazing series that raises the bar for Indigenous representation in popular media, all the while depicting important mental health issues impacting both Indigenous and rural communities. While honoring the show in its entirety, we would like to call special attention to the portrayal of the impacts of suicide loss and the different ways a group of friends process grief in season 1. Through this storyline, Reservation Dogs brings awareness to the occurrence of suicide in Indigenous communities; more importantly, the show also works toward destigmatizing the issue, encouraging those affected to speak openly and connect with others who have also felt its impact. In portraying suicide and its aftermath, the primarily Indigenous cast and crew behind the show took special care to create a humanizing, empathetic depiction, setting a shining example for other productions. We also applaud Reservation Dogs for its ability to interweave humor into dark situations, as well as for its thoughtful, heartfelt engagement with topics including individual and collective grief, economic struggle, cross-generational support, and cultural identity.
Sort Of (2021-2023)
Award: Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health
Sort Of is a Canadian sitcom which follows a non-binary millennial and child of Pakistani immigrants as they navigate life, love, and identity. Created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, this unique and vibrant show offers nuanced, heartfelt depictions of queerness and community while also providing positive models for managing relationships, personal identity, self-care, and cultural expectations simultaneously over the course of its 3 seasons. Importantly, Sort Of – which was written by primarily queer and South Asian creatives and features a diverse cast – consistently eschews tokenism in favor of true authenticity and depth. Along the way, this special series addresses the complexity of queerness in South Asian communities while also tackling more broadly applicable topics, such as gender expression, personal boundary setting, and the validity of both romantic and non-romantic love. The show also features a storyline centered on caring for children navigating emotional pain and uncertainty after their mother is in a serious accident, includes a character who works as a therapist, encourages help-seeking to manage mental health and major life challenges, and inspires viewers to live their truths fully while also supporting those they care about.
Spinning Out (2020)
Award: Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health
Spinning Out is a youth-focused series that sheds light on bipolar disorder, the far-reaching effects of mental illness, and the potential consequences of unhealthy coping mechanisms; set in the world of competitive figure skating, the series also reveals how pressure to perform can have negative impacts on young athletes or exacerbate existing mental health conditions. Created by Samantha Stratton and starring Kaya Scodelario, Spinning Out provides a multidimensional portrait of bipolar disorder, showing that the same illness can manifest differently in different people (even within the same family), all the while exploring the challenges of managing one’s mental health and living authentically while in a household where numerous individuals experience mental illness. Throughout its 10 episodes, the series raises awareness and fosters understanding regarding the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, the complexity of depression and underlying factors that might contribute to it, the mental health impacts of competition and other unhealthy pressures (including negative body image and substance abuse), and the overall importance of interpersonal relationships and support.
Surviving Summer (2022-2023)
Award: Show with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health
Created by Joanna Werner and Josh Mapleston, Surviving Summer is an Australian Netflix drama centered on the interpersonal dynamics of a tight-knit group of young surfers. With its focus on both relationships and athletic pursuits, the show embraces the reality of a range of mental health challenges, all the while emphasizing the value of such important qualities as perseverance, courage, empathy, and teamwork. We were especially impressed by the show’s first season, which includes a storyline in which a primary character experiences PTSD and anxiety following a surfing injury; importantly, his friend encourages him to seek help and, even though he is reluctant at first, he eventually accepts therapy and support. With this and other storylines, Surviving Summer inspires teens to take their feelings seriously, support each other emotionally, and show kindness to those experiencing a range of mental health challenges. Other topics tackled by the series include the potential for burnout in competitive environments, processing the death of a loved one, and the fact that recovery is an ongoing process that takes time.
The Year Between (2022)
Award: Film with Outstanding Messaging around Mental Health
The Year Between is an independent film written by, directed by, and starring Alex Heller, which tackles mental health struggles head-on while maintaining a refreshing sense of black humor. Centered on a young woman living with bipolar disorder who returns home after dropping out of college, Heller’s film is a deeply personal project (based on a real-life crisis she experienced when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 19). Though often irreverent, The Year Between does not trivialize mental illness; rather, the film shows that mental health challenges are just one part of a person’s overall life, personality, and experiences and that people of all stripes and backgrounds can be impacted by them. The film also depicts the use of medication to manage symptoms, helping reduce the stigma around medication while acknowledging that individuals may experience side effects or need to try different medications and dosages before finding what works for them. We were also impressed by the way Heller shows the impact a mental health diagnosis can have on the friends and family of the person affected, as well as by how she uses her story to reassure audiences that everyone’s journey looks different and that it’s OK to move through life at your own pace.
