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2025 Regional Judging – Hope and Justice

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We encourage you to seek personal support if you become troubled by the content of this category. If you experience an emotional crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (available 24/7) or the California Warm Line at (833) 845-7415

The entries you are judging are submissions in the Hope and Justice category. Entries in this category deal with a variety of topics including mental health, suicide prevention, social justice and other complex topics that need to be addressed with compassion and knowledge.

For this category, we asked youth to communicate about what they are feeling, increase knowledge about an issue or take a stand against injustice, or share their perspective in a way that gives others a glimpse into their lives. While some youth submit entries share ideas for solutions to the issues of concern, others used this as an opportunity to process their feelings in a therapeutic way.

We welcome all types of submissions. In our submission criteria, we remind youth that whatever message they choose, their submissions need to be thoughtful and respectful. We asked youth to be honest about their feelings, but to be sure their entries convey that they are coming from a place of cultural humility and has the intent to further understanding and constructive dialogue about social justice and change. So, as a judge please score each of these entries based on how well they conveyed their messages and followed these guidelines.

At any point if you are experiencing technical difficulties with the website, or have questions regarding the category, please email dori@youthcreatingchange.org.

In advance, we appreciate your time.

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Entry Details

Judge Name*

Messaging Scoring Measures

Please enter a number from 0 to 30.
Art can be used to influence change – through education, connection or inspiration. While this scoring measure is highly subjective the goal of this is to consider how this submission provided you with new information, provided you with a new perspective, made you feel, or connected with you personally.
Please enter a number from 0 to 20.
3. Does the film apply appropriate language and/or safe messaging (where applicable)?
Please review the safe messaging and language guidelines below when scoring this question. You will answer “no” if one or more of these were not applied.

  • The film avoids oversimplification of the causes of suicide, mental illness, and/or the process of recovery: It is okay for films to talk about life problems that may increase a person’s risk of suicide – such as family issues (divorce, abuse) or social issues (bullying, break ups) – as these can possibly contribute to a young person feeling hopeless, engaging in reckless or harmful behaviors, or isolating themselves from others (all of which are warning signs for suicide); however, films should not point to a person’s culture, sexual orientation, gender, or other factors as THE cause of suicide or mental illness. No one thing definitively causes suicide and mental health challenges, and people experiencing suicidal thoughts are often dealing with multiple difficult situations and exhibit warning signs. Additionally, it often takes more than “a simple act of kindness” to save a life or to heal from the root causes that contribute to thoughts of suicide or mental illness. For instance, although picking up someone’s books when they fall is a nice metaphor for treating others with empathy and compassion, recovery and suicide are both complicated.
  • The film uses appropriate language around suicide and mental health (if applicable):
    • Use “died by suicide” or “took their own life” (do not use committed suicide).
    • Use “attempted suicide.” Suicide and suicide attempts should not be referred to as “successful” or “unsuccessful,” as the concept of “success” (or its lack) does not apply to suicide.
    • Use person-first language when referring to people who are living with mental health challenges. For example, instead of calling someone “mentally ill,” we could say that they are “experiencing a mental health challenge; or, instead of saying “He is bipolar.” say “He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.”
    • Films should not use derogatory terms (such as “crazy,” “psycho,” or “insane”) without also communicating that they are not an acceptable way to describe others or talk about mental illness. It is important not to perpetuate the use of stigmatizing labels that could isolate those who are struggling or prevent them from seeking help.
  • The film avoids harmful statistics about suicide: Films should avoid using statistics that make suicide seem common or inevitable (which could encourage a young person already thinking about suicide to mistakenly believe that it is a normal and acceptable solution to their problems). Saying something such as “a person dies by suicide every 18 minutes” also takes the focus off of the help available to those who are struggling. Remember, films should be focused on raising awareness around suicide prevention, not just convincing people that suicide is a problem.
  • The film avoids stereotypes and shows sensitivity to differences: Films should be careful not to reinforce stereotypes of people living with mental health challenges – such as them being dangerous, violent, disabled, homeless, helpless, or personally to blame for their condition(s). It is important not to perpetuate myths and stereotypes in order to create accurate and respectful films (for instance, although popular culture and media often associate mental illness with crime or violence, people living with mental illness are actually more likely to be victims). Additionally, all films should be sensitive to racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, and/or gender differences where applicable, with all individuals and cultures realistically and respectfully depicted.
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
Please enter a number from 0 to 10.
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