TWO young Saudi college students have decided to spend their summer vacation in making a high quality documentary film about drugs and addiction in an effort to contribute to social awareness.

“We are financing the documentary from our own money and we hope to air it on one of the satellite channels,” said Rakan Aksoy, a 23-year-old information management systems student and director of the documentary. Aksoy and his school friend, Faisal Banajah, 24, who is studying medicine in Austria, reconnected during this summer vacation and decided to create a documentary that could contribute to the well-being of the society.

“Faisal and I have worked with various local and international productions on freelance basis and we thought that we could adapt our experience and make our own documentary,” Aksoy explained. He said that with the help of his father, who is a professional in the film production industry, he managed to get all the necessary equipment to shoot the documentary.

Banajah, who is serving as production manager, said that they thought of drugs because the majority of the society is comprised of youth who are an easy target of drug dealers and pushers.

He said that he had contacted Al-Amal Hospital for Addiction in Jeddah and was well received there. “We have managed to organize interviews with doctors and patients as well as those who are willing to share their experience and dark moments,” Banajah said.

The production has received various kinds of support and help from many experts who offered their help in tightening the script, improving the commentary and even in acting.

“Since we want to include reenactments of some of the patients’ stories, we had to find the talent to recreate the scenes,” Aksoy said. “Many friends wanted to audition for parts. We spent many days auditioning until we found the right people,” he added.

Despite working within a limited budget, both Aksoy and Banajah are trying to come up with an international standard production.

“Though our budget is limited, we are both confident that we can come up with a good quality production that will showcase important information, inspiring stories and shocking confessions,” Aksoy said.

Banajah noted that the work is going on within a tight time frame because they both have to finish shooting and editing before the end of the summer vacation when they will return to their studies. “So far, we are doing fine. We will finish shooting by next week and then start the long process of editing,” he said.

“We will include graphics and a high quality soundtrack from some of our professional friends,” he added.

Though neither of them has studied film production, they share a love for filmmaking. Their experience so far is encouraging and, they say, they may continue in the field. “This documentary is our first individual production but it surely won’t be the last,” they agreed.