Two short films about mental health, made by young people in Dorset, have been nominated for the national Charity Film Awards.

The films are part of a project called #LifeUnfiltered, made by local young people to raise mental health awareness. They were released on World Mental Health Day on October 10 and already have over 12,000 views on YouTube.

#LifeUnfiltered was a six-month collaboration between a group of 25 young people, supported by Healthwatch Dorset, Dorset Mental Health Forum, Dorset Mind, Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust, Poole Youth Forum and Bournemouth University.

One of the young people, Siobhan, describes why she took part in the project: “For me, working on this film was a way to not only get to know new people and gain confidence, but a way to make sure fewer people end up so mentally unwell that they end up in psychiatric hospitals.

“I want young people to be able to reach out and get the help they need before things in their lives deteriorate even more.”

The young people were involved in every step of the project – from initial workshops, through to interviewing film companies, planning and shooting the film itself, editing and promotion.

Sarah Rose, operations manager at Dorset Mental Health Forum, said: “We really wanted to learn what their perception was and think about how we can make mental health more normalised for young people and not this thing that is terrifying.”

The two films have been nominated for the award but need to win the public’s vote in order to make the final shortlist. The public vote ends at midnight on December 14 and the winners will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony in London.

Healthwatch Dorset Chair, Joyce Guest, said: “We’re so proud to have been involved in this project. The young people we worked with wanted to raise awareness of, and reduce the stigma of talking about, mental health.

“The short films they’ve produced are amazing and it would be wonderful to get them shortlisted for this national award. Please watch, share and vote for #LifeUnfiltered.”

You can vote for the film at www.charityfilmawards.com.