Students from the video production at Claremont High School were honored for short films entered in the statewide Directing Change Film contest last week (http://www.directingchange.org/about/). The contest is aimed at breaking the stigma of mental health matters and suicide prevention by creating one-minute public service announcements. The class had five films that were recognized in the Los Angeles County region. The contest stretches through five regions in the state, totaling over 450 entries  (http://www.directingchange.org/2017-winners/). Check out a brief synopsis of each film that was selected.

1st Place – Mental Health Matters – ASPIRATIONS (moves on to the state competition) 

Filmmakers:  Isabella Cisneros, Daniella Cruz, Abigail Grandson, and Elizabeth Schwartz

Students receive a $500 cash prize and the school receives a $500 grant to host a mental heath activity at CHS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZai8g031ic&feature=youtu.be

3rd Place – Suicide Prevention – THE AWAKENING 

Filmmakers: Katelyn Villegas, Charlotte Stradley, Miranda Van Beers, and Dakota White 

Students receive a $250 cash prize.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jr5rHh9TNY&feature=youtu.be

Honorable Mention – Suicide Prevention – HOPE 

Filmmakers: Liam Resich, Blake Bradfield, Wolfgang Walborn, Fabian Zaballa, and Finn Pacheco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA1t28hRQ1w&feature=youtu.be

Honorable Mention – Mental Health Matters – COLORS

Filmmakers:  Andrew Patterson, Colin Kirkpatrick, Nathan Han, and Ahmad Tarifi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E-NDlQqAg8&feature=youtu.be

Honorable Mention – Mental Health Matters – LENS

Filmmakers: Kyle Olmsted, Andrew Governale, Jarod Miller, Jonathan Garcia, and Gaige Chyrchel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e6KWm5wzqk&feature=youtu.be

The class travelled to a red carpet awards ceremony on May 11 at the Escondido Arts Center to pick up their awards.