Orange County Films

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.

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.

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.

In a voicemail, a boy shares his concerns to a friend and asks him directly if he is thinking of suicide, so the friend decides to reach out to a crisis line for help. Ever since my middle school friend took his own life, I was always haunted by the question of what would've happened if I had just reached out. This film gave me an opportunity to explore the answer to that question.

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 film about ways to cope with mental health challenges by finding support and doing things you enjoy.

A film that talks about views on mental health in the Vietnamese community and how to reduce stigma.

A transgender woman shares her story of discovering her identity.

A group of friends talk on a video call about the changes they have noticed in their friend’s behavior and reach out to him to check in.

A girl decides to reach out for help and notices positive changes in herself once she gets the help she needs.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.”