First established in 2016 as part of the NYC Mental Health Film Festival, Changing Minds is a filmmaking initiative by and for young people. It has now grown to a festival showcasing the films of talented young filmmakers from around the world.

Competition

Changing Minds was initially conceived as a young filmmaker competition with a simple premise: Young people have important stories to tell. Since 2016, we’ve received thousands of films from young filmmakers worldwide.

Festival

The young filmmaker competition at the NYC Mental Health Film Festival was such a success and we received so many submissions that we decided that young people needed their own festival. Our inaugural Changing Minds Young Filmmaker Festival was held in 2019 at Village East Cinema. This year’s festival will be on May 20.

Friends

Changing Minds is made possible through the support of our dedicated friends and partners, including the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the Isora Foundation, Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, and the Youth Mental Health Project. Changing Minds films have been screened at Queens Library, ReelAbilities, and the Singapore Mental Health Film Festival – all organizations we are proud to work alongside.

Resources

You can find collections of Changing Minds films 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 and share information about mental health and Changing Minds.