get involved
Our missionWhether you want to share your own mental health story, learn from the experience of others, or discuss mental health (in a school, a college, or community setting), Changing Minds has something to offer — free of charge and easy to access. Below are some materials that can be used to get involved with all things Changing Minds, or to host classroom and community screenings.
Film Competition
We encourage young people ages 15-25 to share mental health stories through film — and we’ve even created a handy How to make a Film Guideas a resource! Check it out, and learn how easy it can be to even develop and create a film on your smart phone.
What We Are Looking For
This competition runs annually for filmmakers age between 15 and 25. To qualify, films must be 10 minutes or shorter and focus on mental health issues affecting young people (e.g. depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, OCD, BPD, etc.).
How To Enter
Submit (for free!) via FilmFreeway.com, the world's premier film festival submission platform. (If you're not already a registered user, it takes only a few seconds to join. We accept submissions year annually)
Community Screenings
You can find curated collections of Changing Minds films, organized by topic and subject matter, on our YouTube channel. These are FREE and available to use in school or community-based screenings.
We encourage you to use our free Discussion Guide to help lead your conversation, spark important conversations and change, and share information about mental health and Changing Minds.
Finally, here is a link to our post screening survey. If you host a screening, please be sure to have the participants fill this out, so we can continue to improve Changing Minds.
Festival
We're currently accepting film submissions for our 2026 Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Festival in New York City. Watch this space for more information about event date and details!
Film Fridays
Each May, during Mental Health Awareness Month, Changing Minds runs Film Fridays as a weekly series featuring brand new films from talented young filmmakers, plus Q&As with those filmmakers on Instagram Live.