A mental health awareness video created by students from La Quinta High School in the Garden Grove Unified School District is set to air as a 30-second television commercial during Angels games on Fox Sports West.
“An Audience of One” was produced by creative writing students Alexa Wright, Kayla Nguyen, Keanu Hua and Brian Ly, along with their teacher, Amanda LaPera. According to district officials, the OC Health Care Agency selected the spot after partnering with Angels Baseball to promote suicide prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The same public service announcement was one of several student videos to earn honors in this year’s Directing Change Program and Film Contest, sponsored by Each Mind Matters and the California Mental Health Services Authority. The Directing Change contest, which started in 2013, challenges students to produce compelling 60-second videos as a way to spark important conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.
“GGUSD students are passionate about mental health, and they are continuously coming up with creative ways to bring awareness to mental health issues,” Garden Grove Unified trustee Bob Harden said in a statement. “We are so thrilled that their video will be aired on television as these are the next generation of leaders and advocates in the movement to end the stigma associated with mental health issues.”
In addition to its accolade at the Directing Change contest, the young filmmakers behind “An Audience of One” also earned honors at the 54th annual California Student Media Festival and the National AAS Directing Change Contest.
You can watch their video at https://vimeo.com/394559381.