Contest Rules |

2024 Program and Contest Rules

To enter the contest you must agree to these official rules. Submission of an entry constitutes an agreement to these rules. Please also review our FAQ and Entry Process. View and share our promotional flyer here.

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.

**Note: Statewide winners will not receive additional cash prizes. Directing Change “Team Picks” (films selected by Directing Change team to move on to statewide judging) will not receive cash prizes unless also a 1st-3rd place regional winner.

Additional Prizes
All winning films will be featured on the Directing Change website. Additional prizes include:

Schools and organizations associated with the first-place regional film in each category will receive a trophy.
First-place regional winners will move on to statewide judging to compete with other winning films across the state.
Up to two participants from the first-place film team will be provided with travel stipends to attend the award ceremony (subject to availability of funding).
Films will be integrated into the statewide suicide prevention awareness social marketing campaign and possibly shown on TV, online, and in movie theaters.

Submission Formats
For submissions in the Suicide Prevention, Mental Health, Through the Lens of Culture, Animated, or Walk in Our Shoes category, entries must be either 30-seconds or 60-seconds in length, depending on the submission category.

For submissions in the Hope & Justice category, art can be submitted in any format suitable for sharing via social media including but not limited to original music, dance, spoken word, art, poetry, a speech, anything! For information on submission formats for this category visit the Hope & Justice Entry Format Tips page.
For all 30 and 60-second film submissions, Vimeo is our video services partner, and all technical specifications need to be in line with their requirements. You will be asked to upload your film file as part of the entry form. By uploading your film, it will automatically be uploaded to Vimeo meaning you agree to their terms and conditions.

Submission Requirements
All films and art need to meet certain submission requirements. These vary by category – please review the requirements for each category. Requirements include, but are not limited to:

Required logos and resources (available as an end slate that can be added at the end of the film)
Every film must begin with a beginning title slide (not counted in the 60-second or 30-second limit) that needs to include: The Film Title, Filmmakers Name(s), School/Organization Name, County in which School or Organization is located, Adult Advisor Name, Submission Category. A title slide is available for download, but youth are welcome to create their own. They can also use this title slide template.
Required end slate (Please check that you have the correct up-to-date end slate – has been updated as of November 2023):
- End Slate (png)
- Please note that a different end slate is required for all Hope & Justice category submissions.
- Hope & Justice End Slate / Hope & Justice End Slate (vertical)

Submission Language
Films in languages other than English are encouraged for the Through the Lens of Culture and Hope & Justice categories. These films must have English captioning.

Brands and Logos
Please try to avoid the use of brands when creating your film or art. This can include logos on shirts, brands on laptops, store signs in the background of outdoor shots, etc. You can avoid logos by dressing your actors in clothing without recognizable brands, covering laptop brands with a sticker or sticky note, or framing your shots so that recognizable stores are not highlighted. While using a brand will not disqualify your film, it may limit the use of your film in television or movie theaters, due to brand copyright laws. We recommend avoiding the hassle and making smart, brand-free choices during the creation of your film!

Music and Copyrights
Entries must meet all copyright standards by obtaining releases for all copyrighted music and materials before submission. Entries that include copyrighted materials (such as images, supers, or audiovisual materials) or music (such as music purchased from iTunes, on a CD, or other downloadable services) without the proper permission and signed release forms will be disqualified. Please review the forms and copyrights page for more information and to download the appropriate forms.

It’s best to provide original music! When getting permission, you’re seeking permission for all places that the film could be used, such as online and on television.

The Use of AI

The use of AI to create any part of your film or art piece (including but not limited to: script, background, editing, written pieces, etc) is not allowed. AI models are based on millions of images, including artists’ work, therefor this is not considered to be original work. As artists, storytellers and filmmakers we ask that you act with honesty, integrity and respect as you create your films for this contest.

Release Forms
As of this year, Directing Change requests that all release forms be completed electronically. Please review the forms and copyrights page for more information and other requirements.

Safety
Youth and young adult producers: please avoid potentially dangerous production situations that could put crew, actors, or the public at risk. Safety during the project is of the highest priority. Directing Change staff and sponsors take no responsibility and assume no liability for any acts or damages that may result from preparing the materials to submit to this contest. Further, all the submission categories are sensitive subjects that need to be addressed with respect and understanding of how they might impact those involved in the project. If at any time, you or someone working on the project experiences an emotional crisis let an adult know immediately or call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988. This is a free, 24-hour hotline.

Disqualification
Films can be disqualified for the following reasons:

Providing false information
Not meeting the submission deadline
Not obtaining the proper release forms or copyright permissions
Violation of the safe messaging policy (in each submission category)
Violation of the rights of any third party or US, state, or local law
Any other violation of the contest rules

The Directing Change Team reserves the right to disqualify any entry that they believe at their sole discretion to violate these rules. Further, the advisor can refuse to submit an entry that is not suitable for schools and a general audience. All categories have special content that must be included and specific content that must be avoided and can lead to disqualification.

If an entry contains disqualifying content or the entry promotes inaccurate information or statistics, the Directing Change team may reach out to suggest revisions. If the revised entry is not submitted within the deadline provided by Directing Change, the film will be disqualified.

Note: Entries should not be uploaded to Vimeo, YouTube, or any other video service sites accessible to the public (other than the official contest website as part of the entry form) until after winners have been announced on the website. See “Submission to Other Film Festivals” below as an exception.

Submission to Other Film Festivals – Entries submitted must be original work created by the individuals listed on the entry form. Entries can be submitted to other film festivals after the submission deadline. For a list of film festivals, visit the For Youth page. Special note to students in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare Counties: Directing Change partners with the SlickRock Film Festival. We strongly encourage you to also submit to this festival if your entry is in the Suicide Prevention category. The entry description and judging guidelines for both contests are aligned.