We Empowered 8 Change-makers and Impact Storytellers with the Tools they Need to Make a Big Difference
Check out each campaign and find out how their stories are inspiring others towards good.
On April 22nd, at our first-annual UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival, we proved that there exists a thriving generation of students who champion positive change; and they’re using video storytelling and concrete calls-to-action as their driving force for good.
Out of a pool of 356 applicants comprised of high school, university, and film school students , we selected eight inspiring impact campaign finalists. These student thought-leaders not only reflect the diversity of UPTOGOOD’s platform, but also the myriad social issues that continue to be of global importance to young and inspired thought-leaders. However, they need your support to continue their impact. Here is everything you need to know about them:
Grand Winner: OnJone’t Williams, “This Never Goes Away / My Mental Trip”
Williams’ impact campaign seeks to inspire others to take their mental well-being seriously by finding a positive, place, action, or adventure that will allow one to overcome their internal struggles. For Williams’ PROMISEit, she asks her supporters, “ How will you find peace and understanding? How will you find your ‘Mental Trip?”
“I have had anxiety and panic attacks all my life and I’ve dealt with them by putting myself in the public eye. I create films, I give speeches, I’m a poet, and an athlete. I’ve designed my life around pushing myself forward, and I want to motivate others to do the same thing in a positive way. No road to success is easy but it get’s easier when we ALWAYS refer to it as a road to SUCCESS,” says Williams.
You can follow her work on social media:
Twitter: @OnJOfficial
Instagram: @OnJOfficial
Impact Winner: Oscar Revelins, “Sexual Assault: Don’t Be A Bystander”
In recognizing that one in every six women will experience an attempted or completed rape, Revelins believes that “we have to fight to lower this statistic — but we can’t do it alone. This campaign is about raising awareness and pledging to not be a bystander — by stepping in when you see the signs.”
“As a high school student, brother, and best friend to many female peers, this important issue is always something talked about in school. Unfortunately, most of the time, the responsibility is put on the victim to “not be raped,” though it’s easier said than done. The responsibility is not on a single person, but everyone in the situation - even those who only watched from afar.”
Runner Up: Leesa Kim, “Helping Hands For Healthy Minds”
Before creating this initiative, Kim did not know all there was to know about mental health. However, this did not stop her from wanting to make a difference: “I wanted to help create this PSA to educate myself and create a learning tool for others in the same boat. More recently, people I care about have been seriously affected by mental illness and I realize that the more I learn the better I can be as a supportive friend.”
Runner Up: Abbie Collette, “The World I want to Live in #STEMsFromHer”
In Collette’s own words, “ as a society, we must encourage girls to pursue their passions. The world I want to live in gives all students around the world equal access to STEM education; it encourages everyone to engage in innovation and it supports them as they accomplish great things.”
“Through our experiences as young women pursuing STEM, we wish to share our experiences and encourage girls to overcome societal pressures,” says Collette.
Runner Up: Bridget Galaty, “Transaction: Stepping out of the Closet”
“The issue of transgender rights is one that is oft discussed, but many people have not actually had the opportunity to meet or talk to a transgender person. In this documentary, we hear about the experiences of transgender people while wardrobe shopping,” says Galaty.
“As one of the leaders of my school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) for the past two years, I have worked with my peers to find both internal and external acceptance. In this role, I have had discussions about how to embrace yourself, even if others don’t, and how to be an educator to people new to these ideas…This work is helping me to bring voice to people who often go unheard.”
Runner Up: Angellic Ross, “RevoLUZion”
In Ross’ own words, “revoLUZion addresses the issue of education in developing countries. Our main character Luis Miguel is a 7th grader who lives in the village on Mano de Leon; however, the school in his village only goes up to 6th [grade]. The nearest school is Los Patojos, which is 3 hours away. The film also addresses the impact of alternative education in Guatemala, which is the main philosophy of Los Patojos. Through its philosophy of ‘Patojismo,’ Los Patojos provides an alternative education that encourages its students to turn their dreams and ideas into action.”
“The staff at Los Patojos do not just teach students, they are building revolutionaries. revoLUZion is about the impact of Los Patojos on Luis Miguel,” says Ross.
Runner Up: Ellie Tsai, “Her Life Is Basically Perfect”
When talking about the inspiration behind her impact campaign, Tsai notes this: “Constantly thinking your body isn’t good enough can be damaging on a physical and mental level. Even though I know the negative pressures of social media won’t go away, I know the impact [that] a small compliment can have on someone’s whole day. Even something so small can make such a large difference.”
“After interviewing 40 high school girls [for our video], we discovered that nearly 80% openly feel the media negatively influences their perception of body image. Seeing the self-esteem of young girls plummet, we wanted to do the opposite; so we told girls they were beautiful just the way they were. The reactions pulled at our heartstrings.”
Runner Up: Stella Lavinthal, “Immigration Nation”
In creating this film, Lavinthal wants to educate people about “the struggle of immigration and the importance of empathy — and to remind all Americans that we are all part of a nation of immigrants.”
“We are all part of a nation of immigrants…[If] we remember that we’re all originally from somewhere else and that our families were once immigrants, we could help make the world a little better.”
You’ve seen UPTOGOOD’s best. Now, it’s your turn.
Make a difference and pass it on. Here are your calls to action:
- WATCHit: Bookmark and visit UPTOGOOD.org to watch impact stories and do your part in supporting campaigns like those we’ve shared with you to make the world a better place for everyone!
- HOSTit: Create your UPTOGOOD profile here and create an impact campaign around your story today!
- SHAREit: Share this article or UPTOGOOD with good-hearted people, activists, and storytellers you know by tagging them with the hashtag #UPTOGOODspotted or #UPTOGOODImpactFilmFest. Let them know you think they are up to GOOD and should be part of our community!
- REMEMBERit: Keep us in mind next year and apply to our 2nd annual UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival. We want to support aspiring and seasoned change-makers in having their work continue to make a positive impact.
- FOLLOWit: We have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and we’d love for you to join us! Together, let’s start the conversation for good everywhere.
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The UPTOGOOD Impact FIlm Festival was co-produced by UPTOGOOD and New Roads School and sponsored by Anonymous Content. Combining a traditional student film festival with a powerful online platform built for video-driven social impact campaigns, the UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival asks students to produce and share videos / short films that catalyze positive change by highlighting social issues and solutions in their communities — and to use the film festival to amplify that impact. This unique festival promotes and celebrates the art of impact storytelling, producing, and campaigning for social impact with our youth and beyond.
We are thankful for our influential board of social-impact practitioners judged and spoke at this event, including key partners like Participant Media, the team that brought us films such as Spotlight, Citizen Four, The Cove and An Inconvenient Truth.
Our Festival Judges:
- Participant Media
- Global Citizen
- Alice Quinian, Engagement and Education Coordinator at POV/American Documentary
- Caty Borum Chattoo, Director, Center for Media & Social Impact, Executive in Residence, School of Communication, American University
- Elliot Kotek — CEO/founder of The Nation of Artists
- Kait Halibozek, Manager, Impact Distribution, Picture Motion
- Maureen McComsey — Executive Director/Founding Board Member, Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles
- Pat Chandler, CEO, Creative Visions
- Rafael Angulo, Clinical Professor, University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Our Festival Speakers:
- Linda S. Blanshay, Ph.D — Director, Program Development, Museum of Tolerance
- Angie Jean-Marie, Social Innovation & Marketing Manager, Goldhirsh Foundation
- Frederic Da, Film Production and Film Theory Instructor, New Roads School
- Peter Bisanz, Executive Director, Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment at UCLA
- Rafael Angulo, Clinical Professor, University of Southern California, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
- Kristen Ludwig — Board Member, Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles / President, IN GOOD CO
- Andrew Morgan — Director, Untold
- Kim Rocco Shields — Director/Founder, Genius Pictures
- Sandra De Castro Buffington, Founding Director, UCLA Global Media Center for Social Impact
- Jo Jenson — CEO, Causeumentary
- Christina Lindstrom, Managing Director, Lindstrom Impact Strategies
- Kait Halibozek, Manager, Impact Distribution, Picture Motion
- Emi Onishi — Co-Founder, UPTOGOOD & Co-Producer, UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival
- Mika Onishi — Co-Founder, UPTOGOOD & Co-Producer, UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival
- Michelle Bernstein — Chair of Film and Digital Media Department at New Roads School & Co-Producer, UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival
- Nancy London — Chief Strategy Officer at New Roads School & Co-Producer, UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival
Generous Prizes Offered by:
- Ashoka’s Youth Venture
- Causementary
- Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles
- Creative Visions
- FilmHero
- Global Citizen
- GoPro
- Living On One
- Participant Media
- Picture Motion
- POV
- PVBLIC Foundation
- The Nation of Artists
- World Merit
The UPTOGOOD Impact Film Festival — co-produced by UPTOGOOD and New Roads School and sponsored by Anonymous Content — is grateful for the support and inspiration from its 2017 Partners: Actuality Media, Art With Impact, Ashoka Youth Venture, Beyond Cinema, Bring Change 2 Mind, Cause Artist, Causumentary, Center for Media & Social Impact, CM Wedding & Events, Connect 4 Climate, Conscious Capitalism Los Angeles, Conveners.org, Creative Visions, Environmental Charter Schools, FilmHero, ForestNation, General Assembly, Genius Pictures LLC, Goldhirsh Foundation, Global Citizen, GoPro, Green Ambassadors, HARA Motion Picture Conservatory, Harmon Institute, International Documentary Association, iLiving, Keep a Breast, Kiss the Ground, Lindstrom Impact Strategies, Living on One, Media Institute for Social Change, Museum of Tolerance, Nadya’s Identity Files, Net Impact, Net Impact (USC Marshall School of Business Chapter), PCDNetwork, Picture Motion, POV, PVBLIC Foundation, Rizzarr, Rock Your World, Sequoyah School, SIMA, The Giving Back Fund, The Global Media Center for Social Impact, The Nation of Artists, The White Feather Foundation, World Merit
