#SPSM chats about “Thirteen Reasons Why” with early career filmmakers who are #DirectingChange alum, Sunday 5/7/17, 9pCT.

As the #SPSM production team reflected on the nation wide coverage of #13RW, and thought though complex and sometimes conflictual reactions to this Netflix series, we realized it was important to hear from people at the heart of this issue: Youth who are the target audience, and also content producers with education about mental health and suicide related messaging.

For this, we turned to alum from #DirectingChange, who have experience creating compelling media about mental health that is also responsible and informed. Nick Jackson’s (@NickH_Jackson) film portfolio can be viewed here. You can also watch “Naivete,” “Viral,” and “Butterfield Road.” Read more about Emma Spiekerman’s (@EmSpiekerman) advocacy work here, and please watch her film “More Than A Mental Illness.”

Watch SPSM with Nick and Emma LIVE here:

Nick Jackson is an 18-year-old film student from Orange, CA. After spending 3 years in the FilmEd* Academy of the Arts program in high school, he now attends Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, CA.

Emma Spiekerman is a writer and photographer from Santa Rosa, California. She recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Journalism. She won second place statewide for her PSA, “More Than a Mental Illness,” in the 2013 Directing Change Contest, and also received an award from Art With Impact for the film. During college, Emma proposed and helped organize a Mental Health Dialogue Week with LMU’s Active Minds. In addition, she facilitated presentations about mental health as a Wellness Educator through campus Student Psychological Services. She completed her journalism thesis on sexual assault on college campuses, and continues to write about activism, the arts, and local issues.