Mt. SAC Early College Academy’s very own Video Production class has moved onto the Directing Change Program & Film Contest finals, as a Team Pick, for their short film, “The Letter of Clarity.”

Directing Change is an initiative created in efforts to, “prevent suicide, reduce stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, and to promote the mental health and wellness of students,” according to their website.

Directing Change hosts an annual Directing Change Program & Film Contest where schools all over the state submit their short films about suicide prevention or mental health. These short films are used to, “support awareness, education and advocacy efforts on these topics,” as stated on their website.

“The Letter of Clarity” is “a short film following the life of a student suffering from depression and her journey to release her built up emotions and seek help through her letter of clarity,” says Isabella Quezada, sophomore, who took part in creating the film.

The entire filmmaking process, from brainstorming to the final product, took a couple of months, according to Quezada. After pitching ideas for around two weeks, the Video Production class, “got a chance to start filming but when we came back (after Winter break) we had lost the footage so we had to restart. I think that was for the best,” she adds.

At first, Mackenzie Diaz, sophomore, who was the scriptwriter and voice actor for the short film viewed the short film as, “just another assignment,” for their Video Production class. “But when we finally had the script down, it felt like something more. What we wanted to do was emphasize more of others looking for the warning signs of those that they care for since oftentimes such films are about seeking out help yourself,” continued Diaz.

Vanessa Ramos, sophomore, is the main actress in the short film and says that she’s “glad that our short film will be seen by more individuals, it has a deeply important message about mental health; hopefully, it can help someone in need.”

Directing Change encourages communities to show these short films to the youth as they continuously try and end the stigma around mental health.

To promote “The Letter of Clarity”, people may vote for their favorite on Directing Change’s website.

To watch “The Letter of Clarity” click the link below:
<a target=”_blank” href=”https://vimeo.com/683669177″>https://vimeo.com/683669177</a>

To vote for “The Letter of Clarity” click the link below: <a target=”_blank” href=”https://directingchangeca.org/peoples-choice/?vimeoId=683669177&filmName=The%20Letter%20of%20Clarity”>https://directingchangeca.org/peoples-choice/?vimeoId=683669177&filmName=The%20Letter%20of%20Clarity</a>