North County students honored for films on suicide prevention, mental health
San Diego Union-TribuneMay 21, 2021
This past year has been a lonely one for students separated from their friends by the pandemic and distance learning. That shared sense of isolation helped inspire two award-winning films by
Students at
They were the county's only award-winners in this year's contest, which held its virtual awards ceremony on Tuesday. Founded nine years ago in
"Watching these films, it's been like a historical record of the pandemic, seeing youth address their mental health," Collins said. "There were lots of themes about students talking about how every day feels the same and they get lost in this '
"She's a freshman this year and it was really hard for her, since it was her first year of high school," Cohen said. "She really appreciated it."
Shot from the point of view of a teenage girl in her home, "Mind Over Media" shows the girl receiving a text from a friend offering support, after she expressed suicidal thoughts. Junior
The "Mind Over Media" film was created by Cohen, Canipe and
"I've seen friends start to spiral slowly," Korchkov said. "You can see the signs and I always reach out to them and let them know they're not alone, even if they don't feel comfortable talking to an adult."
Also in the Suicide Prevention category, Torrey Pines students earned an honorable mention for the film "One Text Away." It was created by
Seven students at Rancho Minerva created "The Pep Talk," which won second place in the Walk in Our Shoes category, which is specifically for middle schoolers. Its creators were
The film features Lopez sitting in a park speaking to the camera offering words of encouragement about ignoring criticism from other girls and embracing her strength and self-worth. At the end, the camera angle changes to show Lopez is speaking to herself in a mirror.
Duncan said Lopez was nervous about appearing on camera for the first time but was passionate about her team's film's message.
"Although she was extremely nervous, she knew the importance of her role and words," Duncan said. "She also believed that self-help and strength can be found from within, especially during tough times."
Rancho Minerva students have won multiple prizes over the years in Directing Change and other local, state, national and global competitions. Duncan said she was happy that despite all the challenges of the past year, the students' work was recognized.
"I am extremely proud of this class and my school, especially for working through the production process during a pandemic. COVID changed the way we worked, but it didn't stop us," Duncan said.
This year's first-place winners were honored Tuesday night in a ceremony on Facebook Live, which featured actor
For now, Directing Change is open only to
A study conducted by the
"The youth are learning all the things we want them to learn, but they're learning it organically," Collins said. "We want this to be a way into the back door to open up the front door to talk about suicide risk in youth."
To see this year's winners, visit directingchangeca.org/films/.
This story originally appeared in
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