"What are we smoking in this room?" Film Screening

 On Thursday 2nd July Children in Crisis held a screening event to launch the new d:side film, ‘What are we smoking in this room?’.  The film was produced by d:side with support from the BBC’s Peter Ransom and in collaboration with students from Southwark College.  It features a young woman, Sarah, and a man, Tom, who talk about their own experiences with drug and alcohol abuse, and a specialist who shares information and advice.  Sarah, who is building her career as a radio presenter, tells the audience how she got into drugs at an early age and about her battles to leave her drug use behind.  Tom, now a successful charity worker, describes his progression from softer drugs to harder ones, and the effects it had on his health and his relationships with friends and family.  Rebecca Cheshire from Addaction ties the two stories together, providing information and advice throughout the film.

Many of the students who worked on the film came to the event, which was held at Southwark College in Waterloo.  Abu Sayed Mukid, one of the students, told the audience how valuable the experience of making the film was for him and introduced the film.  Some of the interviewees also attended the screening and told the d:side team how pleased they were with the final product.  We were delighted to see representatives from other charities and from Southwark Council there, many of whom are keen to use the film within the drug and alcohol education arena.  The exciting atmosphere and the enthusiastic reception for the film meant the evening was a huge success.

Sarah Jones, Children in Crisis’ d:side Media Project Coordinator describes her experiences working on the new film:
“This has been such an exciting project to work on. The students were so enthusiastic and committed and it was a great experience to work with them. We hope that the film will be widely used and will be a key resource for secondary schools in Southwark and across London.”

The film will be made available in hard copy and will be on our website within the coming weeks.  This is a valuable tool for raising awareness about the effects, issues and risks surrounding drug and alcohol use and abuse, and will provoke thought and discussion among anyone who watches it.  Please keep an eye on the website for updates.

The project was funded by JP Morgan Cazenove.