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Set in Wellington, Choice is a pick-a-path live-action mini-series that follows teenage boy Xavier through his many encounters with drugs as he nears the end of secondary school. At the end of each short episode, you'll pick what happens next by making a choice for Xavier that plays out uniquely in the next episode.

Watch Episode 1 and decide whether Xavier takes or flushes the ecstasy he is given and see what happens in Episode 2...

Produced by senior students of Toi Rauwhārangi, Massey University's College of Creative Arts; Choice puts you the viewer in both the Director's chair and in the shoes of Xavier. You will need to weigh the facts and support Xavier as he prepares to leave secondary school - not once but time and again. Watch the stakes change as different outcomes unfold.

Aside from innovatively ensuring drug-use decisions are the focus, the series also weaves in the issues surrounding any decision to use or not use drugs. This includes the impacy of peer pressure, the Country's evolving views on cannabis, how to be safer if drugs are used, and knowing what to do should problems occur. 

The point of the project is harm reduction for young people says Director Ashleigh Pearson. 

"We wanted to get teenagers thinking about drugs and talking about them rather than just doing them in secret," says Ashleigh.

The crew were third and final-year students for the Bachelor of Creative Media Production at Massey's College of Creative Arts, among New Zealand's leading art and design schools. 

NZ Drug Foundation extends thanks to everyone involved.

"To make something that is innovative and entertaining is one thing, but to also offer viewers a dry-run through making decisions they will almost certainly make in real life is important to New Zealand too.  We are hugely appreciative and thank Toi Rauwhārangi for offering both the young people and us this opportunity," says Programmes Manager Nathan Brown 

Choice is being promoted via social media over the holiday period.

Credits

Cast

Oscar Weir - Xavier

Baxter Gray - Jackson

Nadya Macey - Molly

Carrie Thiel - Claire

Andrew Smith - Floyd

Heather Weir - School Counsellor

Grant Beban - Uncle Barry

Charlotte Simpson - April

Honor Isaac - Little Sister

Aidan Malcolm - Eddie

Harry Trainor - Charlie

Bill Scott - Mr Jones

Crew

Ashleigh Pearson - Director, Writer, Editor

Laura Winstone - Producer

Courtney Batchelor - Director of Photography, Editor, Colorist

Georgia Rathbone - Assistant Producer

Chris Hil - Assistant Producer, Editor, Sound Recordist

Nathalia Luna - Editor  

Shirley Jia Zixuan - Editor

Conna Greenem - Camera Assistant

Jacob Waipara - Camera Assistant

David Button - Sound Recordist

Megan Baldock - Sound Recordist

Robbie Mulligan - Composer  

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