Under the bright stage lights, high school filmmakers used creativity and advocacy to highlight topics often left in the dark.
Taking place at the UCLA James Bridges Theater on April 26, the sixth annual Open Mind Film Festival brought together high school filmmakers from across the United States to show films focused on themes of mental health and wellness. The event was hosted by singer-songwriter Em Beihold and showcased the films of 11 finalists – selected out of 289 applicants nationwide. From singing performances to the live reactions to participants’ films, the festival created a space where young people used their cinematic talents to raise discussions about topics such as eating disorders and online social pressure.
“(My goal was to) let other teens know that they are not alone, because I know from experience that I felt the most alone at my lowest,” said Haley Hyun when describing her film on anxiety and depression. “I was hoping that people would feel that there are other people going through the same.”
Photo of the audience shows the festival’s attendees clapping. The film festival took place April 26, and brought together high school filmmakers from across the country to raise awareness on topics such anxiety, depression, the impact of social media and eating disorders.
(Pranav Akella/Daily Bruin)
The event began with a red carpet, where the filmmakers took a moment to celebrate and discuss their work before the screenings. First-place winner Moorea Friedmann, a senior at Riverdale High School in New York, shared how her film “Happy Birthday” was inspired by her own experience with an eating disorder. Friedmann said by using sound design and surrealist imagery, she sought to portray the emotions she experienced, pushing back against the social stigma surrounding eating disorders.
“It’s sometimes uncomfortable to put yourself back into the mindset of a not-so-great experience,” she said. “But I think more than anything, it was cathartic to turn my experiences into art, which now can hopefully help other people.”
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At 1 p.m., the event officially began with a performance from Beihold, who is known for her work surrounding mental health. Each of the 11 short films was then screened. Hyun said that in her film “Uninvited Guests,” she employed color grading – specifically emphasizing the contrast between dark and bright colors – to show how anxiety and depression can change one’s physical view of life.
The films showcased both the internal impacts on teenagers’ well-being and physical threats they face. Specifically, the audience was presented with the work of Sarina Braun, a student at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, who – in her film, “Pass” – used heartbreak as a medium to convey the social pressures of being a teen.
Gabriella Blankson drew on a friend’s experience on an online chatting app to depict the deep and harmful perils of the internet in her film “Cyber Stalker.”
“I wanted to raise awareness with the fact that social media can be really good, but its also very dangerous,” Blankson said. “You have to know what you can share and what’s dangerous to share.”
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The festival ended with an award ceremony during which five awards were presented by actress and mental health advocate, Sarah Gilman. These recognitions were chosen by a panel of entertainment industry members and mental health professionals, according to Gilman. Award winners included Friedmann, Braun, Hyun, Christopher Pineda Vaquero and Juliam Dowd.
“I really love how film can be used as a medium to convey so much emotion and create empathy around these topics,” Friedmann said. “I definitely want to continue studying the intersection between psychology and film to see how I can continue to use this part to support people.”