The Open Mind Film Festival 2022 is presented by The Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. The Friends is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental health issues.

This second annual Film Festival is open to high school students throughout the United States. Today, many notable personalities are stepping forward to tell stories and share struggles with issues that negatively impact their lives and their mental health. We invite students to join this important conversation by submitting short films that highlight the experiences and concerns they, or their friends, deal with on a daily basis. Use your cell phone or video camera to create a short film to tell us your unique story.

The host for the Festival is Grace Gaustad, singer-songwriter and producer, who released her debut album, BLKBX, in August 2021. Grace has appeared on The Today Show and CNN to talk about her struggles with mental health.

Please email us at OpenMindFilmFest@gmail.com to ask any questions.

The Film Festival is scheduled for April 28, 2022. Selected films will be screened in a virtual format or at The James Bridges Theatre on the UCLA campus.

Awards & Prizes

First Prize: $500
Second Prize: $300
Friends Choice Award: $200

Winners will be selected by a panel of judges, including Zach Gottlieb, founder of Talk With Zach, a Gen Z movement that hosts conversations to change the culture, inspire activism and make the world a better place, and Van Alpert, film director, music videographer and artist.

Rules & Terms


-Eligibility: Open to all students (grades 9-12) currently enrolled in high school in the United States. There is no fee for submitting a film.

-Length of Film: 5 minutes maximum.

-We accept all forms of film including narratives, documentaries, animations, music videos, and public service announcements.

-Each film must be submitted with a FilmFreeway submission info form. Filmmakers will also be asked to submit a film via Vimeo.

-We will be accepting films until March 11, 2022. All qualified films will be viewed by a panel of judges.

-Winners agree to participate in the Open Mind Film Festival event.

-We are interested in the ideas and concerns of young filmmakers and are open to all content, however films which are excessively violent or sexually exploitive will likely not be selected.

-By submitting a film to the Open Mind Film Festival, the filmmaker(s) acknowledges, represents and affirms that he/she has:

*obtained consent from any and all other persons or entities who have ownership rights, licenses or interests (including without limitation, intellectual property rights, rights of publicity, distribution licenses, etc.) in the film, and
* obtained and otherwise cleared any and all rights to all materials included in such film (including, without limitation, with respect to all music included in the film, all copyrighted works and trademarked content used in the film, all participants featured in the film, etc).

-By participating in this festival you agree to follow the CDC Covid-19 safety guidelines and precautions.
1 Review
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  • Erin Kokdil

    This film festival was incredibly well run. The communication was consistent and clear. We appreciate the fact that a participant from our Youth Media Academy was able to share her film and that conversations surrounding mental health are being destigmatized.

    May 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Erin..We hope the Youth Media Academy will submit films for the 2022 Festival as well.