Young Filmmakers Discuss Mental Health at Community Access' Changing Minds Film Festival

—Festival kicks off Community Access' Changing Minds community programs across New York City—

—Changing Minds is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and the Isora Foundation—

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTO ALBUM (Credit: Sean Sime Photography)

NEW YORK, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This Mental Health Awareness Month, Community Access, a New York City-based mental health nonprofit, hosted its annual Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Festival at Village East by Angelika on Saturday, May 17. More than 100 guests attended the event, which featured ten inspiring, bold, and thought-provoking films focusing on mental health themes made by young filmmakers from NYC and beyond. This year's festival marked the kick-off to a brand new series of community screenings and Q&As with filmmakers that Community Access will be hosting throughout NYC during the year ahead.

For ten years, Changing Minds has been celebrating the creative work of thousands of young filmmakers (ages 15-25) who, through their short films about mental health, challenge the stigma that too often surrounds mental health concerns. Their films explore timely mental health themes, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, gender identity, and more.

The ten films showcased at the Festival were selected from more than 1,600 submissions and represent a variety of genres, from documentary to mixed-media and animation. The young filmmakers in the festival hailed from New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and France. A special live panel discussion and audience Q&A with the filmmakers followed this year's screening of a dynamic selection of films.

The featured films included the following and are available to watch onYouTube.

• Heads Full of Life: Filmmaker Teo Nalani. A mixed media animated short film about getting out of your head and accepting help from your friends.
• Before My Eyes: Filmmaker Simone Thomas-Rowe. After getting caught in the middle of a school shooting, a boy hides in a bathroom and thinks back to specific moments in his life where he was happy.
• Even Still: Filmmaker Grey Anderson. A short film about creating a life that is joyful to live through the experience of transness, building community, breaking free of public perception, and cultivating the things in life that bring happiness.
• Ascendant: Filmmaker Lucrèce Wecxsteen. A young woman's past in toxic relationships echoes into her new, healthy relationship.
• Last One There: Filmmaker Corey Dostie. A collage of childhood images explores anxiety in young people while forming identity.
• Late September: Filmmaker Joey Tangradi. A boy spirals into panic after coming into contact with his deep-set anxiety.
• Family Matters: Filmmaker Arthur Chen. A loving and caring daughter needs to re-negotiate her relationship with two different versions of her mother, who was unexpectedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her 60s.
• Arcade: Filmmaker Erica Travia. A 2D animated short film that delves into the heavy theme of anxiety and panic experienced by a college student named Milo.
• Feng Shui: Filmmaker Kofi King. A desktop documentary analyzing the complex relationship between the institutionalized college dorm and mental health.
• Solstice: Filmmaker Julia Messick. Solstice is an experimental short film about seasonal depression, isolation, anxiety, and PTSD.

Community Access first launched the Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Competition in 2015 as part of its New York City Mental Health Film Festival—the oldest and largest film festival of its kind. In 2019, with support from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the organization transformed the program into a fully formed festival, presenting the young filmmakers' projects on the big screen at Manhattan's Village East by Angelika and offering an opportunity for young people to gather in person for great films and conversation.

About Community Access
Founded in 1974, Community Access is a pioneer of supportive housing and social services in New York City for people living with mental health concerns. Driven by the simple truth that people are experts in their own lives, Community Access expands opportunities for people living with mental health concerns to recover from trauma and discrimination through affordable housing, training, advocacy, and healing-focused services. Community Access provides person-centered services that help people pursue goals that are important to them – from gaining access to an affordable home, to learning new skills; from re-establishing community ties, to setting goals for the future.

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation that strives to improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities. Founded in 2007 by philanthropist Laurie M. Tisch, the Illumination Fund plays an active role in supporting innovative approaches across a range of issues—ensuring that arts and arts education are accessible to all, increasing access to healthy food, promoting civic service and supporting economic opportunity. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a new initiative to support organizations utilizing the arts to address health issues that impact New York communities and emphasize the arts as a tool for healing and for building understanding.

About the Isora Foundation
The Isora Foundation, a family foundation established in 2006, is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is committed to partnering with individuals to improve conditions within their communities in the areas of health; economic development; environmental action and social justice. Their grants have included projects addressing the health and educational needs of indigenous people; economic development in immigrant communities; youth organizations; individuals affected by the stigmatization of mental illness; and protection of sensitive environmental areas. The foundation values projects that use a variety of media to tell their stories.

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SOURCE Community Access