Directing Change Student Film Scholarship
Scholarship Sponsored by Directing Change
To enter the contest you must agree to these official rules. Submission of an entry constitutes an agreement to these rules.
Eligibility – To participate, you must be a youth or young adult in the following categories:
MIDDLE SCHOOL
To enter as a Middle School Student, you must meet all these requirements:
You may only submit to the Walk in Our Shoes or Hope & Justice categories. Note: If you are a middle school student and want to enter one of our specialty categories (Animated Short or Through the Lens of Culture), please contact us to discuss.
- You must be in middle school (grades 6-8) and your middle school must be located in California.
- You must have an adult advisor, such as a principal, teacher, or counselor.
- Note: If you are an organization (not a school) that works with middle-school-aged youth, contact us to discuss how you can participate.
HIGH SCHOOL or YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT
To enter as a High School Student or Youth and Young Adult ages 12-25 you must meet one of these two requirements:
- Be associated with a high school located in California and be in grades 9-12. Any high school in California is eligible, including but not limited to: public, private, charter, alternative, and home schools OR
- Be between the ages of 12 and 25 and associated with a college, university, club, community-based organization (e.g. a chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or NAMI), or other agency or program in California. If you are 12-14 and in middle school, you must submit as a middle school student.
Submission Deadline – Midnight PST on March 1, 2024 – For every submission category, EXCEPT non-60 second film submissions in the Hope & Justice category.
60-second films in the Hope & Justice category must also be submitted by midnight on March 1, 2024 to be eligible to compete with all other statewide submissions in that category.
However, any other non-60 second film submissions (poem, drawing, animation, TikTok, etc.) must be submitted by midnight on the last day of each month.
Judging Process and Prizes
All films are first pre-screened by the Directing Change Team. Then, the strongest films move to a panel of regional or statewide judges, who will select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each category (as well as 4th and 5th place for Animated Short). Films in the Suicide Prevention and Mental Health categories are first judged within one of five regions within the state of California. See which region your school or organization falls into here.
At the discretion of the contest organizers, some categories may be combined or split depending on the number of entries received. Prizes will then be based on these new categories and awarded accordingly.
Hope and Justice – Monthly winners will be selected by a special judging panel and announced the following month. 1st to 3rd place Statewide winners will also be selected by a special judging panel and announced at the same time as statewide winners in all other categories. All 60-second film entries entered in the monthly contest and received prior to March 1, 2024 will compete in the statewide Hope and Justice category for a chance for another prize.
Go to Scholarship Application