Awards ceremony held at Fox Theater in Riverside honored middle school and high school students, including Elger Ogoc, a graduating senior and aspiring filmmaker who helped direct award-winning production, “I Hate”

RIVERSIDE – Elger Ogoc was a senior student in Jacob Fuller’s video production class at Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) in Eastvale during the spring semester of 2023 when he first heard about an assignment to produce a film about mental health. The assignment was to submit a one-minute public service announcement (PSA)-type film in the category “Mental Health Matters” to the Directing Change Program and Film Contest, a local and statewide effort that is focused on reducing the stigma related to mental health.

“When I first heard about the project, the topic piqued my interest,” Elger said. “I begged Mr. Fuller to put me in a group together with Xavier because we both want to get into the film industry,” Elger said.

Elger, his friend Xavier Woods, and ERHS classmates, Zain Khugyani, and Julian Zelaya, proceeded to create the short film, “I Hate”, which was awarded first place in the Mental Health Matters category—one of 5 awards announced at the 2023 Directing Change Program and Film Contest held on May 4, 2023, at the Fox Theater in downtown Riverside.

The filmmakers were also recognized at the statewide Directing Change Awards Ceremony on May 16, 2023, at the Historic Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, where they were also awarded first place amongst numerous Mental Health Matters films received across California.

“I was hopeful that Elger and Xavier would be able to produce a great PSA, as they have created other enjoyable works throughout the course of the year. I was hesitant about the title, but after viewing their video, the connection was apparent,” Mr. Fuller said. “The video surpassed my expectations, and I’m really proud of them.”

The Story Behind "I Hate"

Elger and Xavier had been friends for years and both wanted to work together, but hadn’t been in the same classes together and weren’t as close as a result.

“We knew that with a competition, we would get eyes on our film,” Elger said. “And, that was exciting, because we knew this could be a step since we are both trying to get into the film industry.”

According to Elger, the team selected a topic that was “really dear to our hearts” but wanted to tell it in a different way.

“We’re storytellers, and we wanted to take the audience along with us so they could empathize with the main character instead of saying things explicitly to the camera. We wanted to show what was going on in someone’s life,” Elger said.

The concept for the 60-second film focuses on the internal chatter of one character, played by Xavier, who repeats the phrase “I hate…” by filling in descriptions of what angers him about himself and in different scenes of his life at home, at school, and in life. At the end of the film, the main character recognizes that help is available, and that the stories that he tells himself can be changed.

The idea for the narrative came from real-life experiences in both Elger’s and Xavier’s lives.

“Xavier and I were both football players, and that is not an area where mental health is talked about a lot,” Elger said. “I used to be an extremely angry person, and a lot of people we know were like that too, but didn’t like that about themselves.”

Even the title of the film incorporates language that teenagers use on a regular basis to describe almost any part of their lives.

“Those words are so prevalent, ‘I hate this’ or ‘I hate that’ is something we hear a lot,” Elger said. “Sometimes it’s not anything specific, but you’re really talking about yourself, and it’s actually a matter of self-hatred that you have to deal with from within.”

During the making of the film, the themes sparked in-depth conversations between Xavier and Elger who hadn’t talked about such serious topics for a while with one another.

“Xavier shared that he had seen the anger in me, and we talked about it, and how we could address it in the film,” Elger said. “I haven’t had many people talk with me about it, but he could see that I was an angry person.”

“These projects are a great way to have conversations about mental health and prepare students to have those conversations with their peers, and I could tell that they had some very honest conversations with each other about the topic,” Mr. Fuller said. “Elger and Xavier are popular and athletic students on campus, so it was a privilege to see them tackle challenging topics like mental health with their peers.”

The production of “I Hate” took about eight hours over one week of shooting in Elger’s girlfriend’s garage, at school, and at his home. They shot the film on a Panasonic LUMIX G7 4L digital camera.

What's Next For Elger

Since winning the award, the film was shared throughout the school—which constitutes a significant audience as ERHS, located in the Corona-Norco Unified School District, is one of the largest comprehensive high schools in California with nearly 5,000 students.

“A lot of people came up to Xavier at the Directing Change event and said the film was good, and people would say, ‘Hey, you’re that guy from “I Hate”, right?’” Elger said.

Looking back on how he started high school as a young teenager compared to today, Elger can see the evolution of the understanding and acceptance to talk about mental health among teenagers.

“It’s now okay to talk about it, and there is a lot of support from people who want to help,” Elger said. “As seniors, entering the last few months of high school, I heard about a lot of resources and fall-back support available—especially for seniors who are thinking about college, graduation, finals, and so many things that add up to heavy workloads that can affect somebody’s health.”

Xavier and Elger both graduated from Roosevelt High School’s Class of 2023 in late May and will be pursuing film school. Xavier will start at Santa Barbara City College and Elger is headed to Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. Elger refused to let rejection letters from three different universities prevent him from pursuing his dream of becoming a writer/director in the entertainment industry.

“I wish I would have submitted films to the Directing Change competition earlier so I could have had award-winning productions to put on my college applications,” Elger said. “My advice to students is to not be afraid to put yourself out there. You can’t take any steps forward if you aren’t doing work that you are proud of. So, don’t wait for somebody to come by and notice. Put yourself out there and show your passion.” 

About Directing Change

Directing Change is part of Take Action for Mental Health: California’s mental health movement and statewide efforts to prevent suicide, reduce stigma and discrimination related to mental illness, and to promote the mental health and wellness of youth and young adults. Riverside County hosts a local screening and recognition ceremony each year to honor student filmmakers advocating for mental health and suicide prevention awareness. This year’s ceremony was hosted by Riverside University Health System, Behavioral and Public Health Departments, and the Riverside County Office of Education. To learn more about the Directing Change Annual Film Contest and view this year’s films please visit the Directing Change Riverside County website.