Orange County Films

A supportive friend reaches out to a girl who shows the warning signs of suicide, and goes to a school counselor with her.

A film that shows that those who are considering suicide may mask their feelings in front of others and the importance of reaching out to someone who is struggling, even if it may be a difficult conversation to start.

A girl's bracelet, which represents her mental health, breaks apart, but a friend steps in to support her.

A film that shows the isolation and stress youth can feel as a result of family turmoil, and encourages reaching out to a friend and calling or texting a crisis hotline.

A girl who is having suicidal thoughts tells her best friend, who decides to go to a trusted adult which ends up saving her friend's life.

A friend reaches out and asks a youth directly if he is thinking about suicide and then helps him move the weight he carries, which represents suicidal thoughts.

A concerned friend reaches out though the phone to let her friend know she’s noticed her changing behavior and wonders if she’s thinking about suicide.

A girl notices signs of self harm in her best friend, and alerts a trusted adult to get him help.

A girl texts her friend to say goodbye, but her friend urges her to seek help and give resources.

A girl feels invisible and hopeless, then a friend reaches out and lets her know she is not alone

A film about how social distancing affects our mental health and the importance of reaching out.

A film that encourages the viewer to have hope for the future and to reach out when they are struggling.

A student checks in on a friend she's concerned about and offers help, and then connects her friend to counseling.

A student texts another to voice their concerns, and the recipient student decides to reach out to a trusted adult.

A film depicting how sensory issues can impact day to day life and how to be a supportive friend to someone who is struggling.

A film about running as a metaphor for mental health, showing that having friends' support helps in the mental health journey.

A youth struggling with their mental health seeks out help from a crisis line.

A youth explains how how anxiety can take on any forms and provides education about how anxiety works.

"Lost in Thought" is a short film that follows the story of a girl who uses earbuds to block out the noise of her parent's constant fighting. Our short film highlights the importance of communication and connection in a technology-forward age."

An animation about stigma around mental illness, how to reach out for support, and living in unision with mental health issues.

A student swimmer describes how he realizes that something feels different about his mental health. He finds support from his team, family and others to seek help for his sadness and stress.

While chatting with her friend, a girl opens up that she's been struggling and needs support. The film shares signs of depression and how a friend can be supportive by connecting someone who is struggling with a trusted adult and reminds viewers that you are never alone.

A stop motion film that expolores what it's like for a girl who is living with depression.

Students who participate in different clubs and activities at school show that they all experience challenges with thrie mental health at times.

A parent and youth have a dialogue in Spanish about the youth's mental health and the parent does not understand, but the film offers a positive message of support.

A first-generation Vietnamese youth feels misunderstood by his parents, but opens up to a supportive friend.

A news announcement about the importance of talking about mental health in the Latinx community.

A film that tells the story of a girl who experiences anxiety and hopelessness and finds support from a friend who reaches out to her

I chose this category because growing up in a traditional Filipino household meant that I grew up thinking that mental illness was something that a person did to themselves. When my aunt and cousin had their psychotic episodes, my family would deem it as their fault and let it go on for too long. Through this project, I eventually learned that it was a common Filipino stigma and not just something my family made me believe. In 2018, the Philippines finally passed the first mental health bill to provide funding for treating mental illnesses, which is extraordinary considering how long the U.S. has worked to overcome this stigma. Unfortunately, many older generational Filipinos still pass down this mindset to their children, who in turn don't ask for help when they need it. Seeing and experiencing this first hand, prompted me to make this film for my fellow Filipino-Americans.

This PSA is about a Vietnamese girl who is afraid of ruining her family name because of the emotions she has been feeling. She knows that it is not common in her culture to tell everyone about the feelings they are feeling, but she knows that family is what matters and that if she can help someone they can help her.

"The Conversation" is a film about how much communication matters in both family and language, English and Spanish.

Youth from different cultures encourage others to chose empowerment over shame and break the stigmas surrounding mental illness.

This film explores the generational and cultural differences in families perceive mental health.

Students help each other cope with stress by finding their strengths and getting support from trusted adults.

A Latina youth shares the difficulty she and others in her community have sharing their feelings with their families. She is inspired by SanaMente, California's mental health movement, and decides to help herself and others in her community by talking openly about mental health

A girl is feeling pressured and struggling with anxiety from being the first in her family to get an education. She found help on the SanaMente website.Una niña se siente presionada y esta batallando con ansiedad de ser la primera en su familia a recibir una educación. Encuentra ayuda en el sitio de SanaMente.

A 3d animation that takes place in one room, where narrator asks their friend directly if they are thinking of suicide.

An animated film about a friend who noticed warning signs that their friend needed help.

Our film is an animated short focused on reaching out to loved ones who may be suffering with depression or suicidal thoughts. It focuses on a boy in emotional pain, and he exhibits many signs of somebody with suicidal thoughts. His friend notices these signs in him and she decides to reach out in order to help him, giving him comforting words. Our group wanted to educate and assist those around us so we tried to create a video that was as helpful as possible to teenagers. While making the film, we ourselves learned about how to reach out to loved ones we are concerned about.

A protagonist, depressed at the hopelessness of their life, goes to his desk and tears out the pages of his life, his memories. Ultimately, though, his actions draw the sympathy of a dear friend of his, who reminds him that, even when everything seems terrible, every moment of his life means something.

"My submission follows a teenage student struggling with depression. My entry's mission is to teach the viewers about what mental health is, how you can improve it, and how you can help someone who struggles with it."

An educational film about the day in the life of a student with ADHD.

A film about the effects of words on the way another person's self-esteem.

A girl faces bullying, which many don't take action about until a friend steps in to help.

A film about the effects of bullying on middle school youth.

A middle school youth notices another student is struggling, who shares he has suicidal thoughts, so they go to a counselor for help.

A film about what mental health is and how to get help for yourself or another person who is going through a mental health challenge.

A film about friend pulling another friend out of darkness and to get help.

When one student in a classroom struggles, students model the right and wrong ways to respond and provide support. Students learn that words can have a lasting impact and that it is important to show kindness to others.

A film about how opening up to others and how using available resources can bring color back to one’s life.

An animated film which shares tips about how to be supportive of a friend who is struggling such as using encouraging words, and how to seek help from a trusted adult.

My submission relates to the required criteria because I start with a simple drum beat and add more to make it sound like a whole song/riff and then I have captions that say just like adding more than one sound to make a beat completely different. You can be more than one friend, son/daughter, or somebody that helps others in need to make them feel like they are more than one.

“In my film, I talk about my hopes and goals for 2023. I include my own personal goals, my hopes for my loved ones, and my hopes for my community.”

"In this film, I talk about my three goals for the new year."

In our entry, we showcase the story of a high school water polo coach and her journey with mental health. Coach Veronica reveals her past struggles in battling her mental health issues with depression and ADHD and how water polo became a sanctuary for her. The tight-knit community of teammates helped support Coach Veronica through her struggles, and as she soon realized the impact that an uplifting community has on an athlete's mental health, she became empowered to create a supportive environment for the next generation of water-polo athletes. Veronica has not only powered through her own struggles, but has taken her experiences and learned values to create an environment that is supportive for others as well.

Our submission is about ideas to give you hope while going through a though time. We provided a few tips with tangible actions to take. The idea was to ensure that students have an opportunity to have "toolkit" in case of needing help.

We showed how people may not know others' backgrounds and what they could be feeling and not to judge them for it.

Our video is meant to show what others think hope is or what they are hoping for. We hope that people will feel encouraged by this to share their hope with the world and not be scared to show their hopes and dreams.

“This video is about my Japanese American culture and origins and about the recent situations with Asian Hate. I believe that Asian Hate crimes are causing widespread depression among the Asian community and I have taken step in the direction of what I believe I can do to help."

“My goal for creating this entry is to inform and bring awareness to the community that sexual abuse can be the cause of mental health diagnoses. Bringing people, organizations, resources together is something I feel is impactful based on my experience, as well as inspire and encourage others to seek help and let individuals know they are not alone. Some days are rough and there are setbacks, but good days also happen. My story is not over. I continue to fight for my life and the life of others, for justice, for people.”

A poem about a girl with suicidal thoughts and where she finds hope.

“My video serves as a reminder that no matter how long one has a pet, the love, kindness, empathy, and joy that can be learned from them will forever be present and allow us to connect to those around us.”