SINGAPORE — Someone you met on a dating mobile application invited you to a party to “chill”. What would you do?

The new interactive film High, which poses this question, aims to show viewers how risky, split-second decisions could spiral into drug abuse.

The man behind the film is Singapore filmmaker Royston Tan, who is known for tackling social issues in his works.

The film, launched on Thursday (March 19), is part of this year’s national campaign against drug abuse and is available on the microsite high.sg.

It follows the story of Nick (played by actor Shawn Thia), a well-to-do young man invited into the world of drugs and partying by Sienna (actress Naomi Yeo), a woman he meets on a dating app. 

It lets viewers choose Nick’s decisions and lays out four possible endings when drugs are thrown into the mix. 

It is 15 minutes at its shortest and 30 minutes at its longest, depending on the choices viewers make. They are encouraged to post the endings that they picked on social media.

The film is a tie-up between the National Council Against Drug Abuse (NCADA) and marketing communications firm Dentsu Aegis Network Singapore.

EVERY CHOICE CARRIES CONSEQUENCES

At a media preview on Wednesday, Mr Tan, 43, said that the film does not aim to present a moral ground. Rather, it seeks to show that every choice has consequences.

“We all have a choice and that comes with a consequence. And that consequence not only affects you; it affects your family as well as your loved ones, just like the butterfly effect,” Mr Tan said. He had worked on the film for eight months with scriptwriter He Shuming, 34.

The pair were already thinking of producing a film about drug abuse before NCADA and Dentsu approached them last year, because they knew people whose lives had been upended by drugs.

As part of the research for the film, the duo spoke to counsellors as well as current and former drug abusers to understand their reasons for consuming drugs.

At the media preview, NCADA council member Ahmad Firdaus Daud, 36, said that this year’s campaign departs from the “top-down” approach taken previously, and instead, encourages youth to make informed decisions.

“We did not think it would be an effective message (if we took a top-down approach), because youth want to make up their own mind about drugs. And they make these decisions on the information that they get, which is skewed,” Mr Firdaus, who has been volunteering with NCADA since 2017, said.

The lawyer added that while young people know that drug consumption is bad, they do not fully understand why it is so. Some youth are exposed to celebrities who are successful despite consuming drugs, he said. 

YOUNG, FIRST-TIME DRUG ABUSERS ON THE RISE

The film’s release comes amid a rise in young first-time drug abusers.

Based on figures from the Central Narcotics Bureau, 3,524 drug abusers were arrested last year, a six-year high.

Of these, 42 per cent were new drug users, with three in five under age 30.

Methamphetamine, also known as meth or ice, has become increasingly popular among abusers here, with 63 per cent of those arrested consuming the drug. Among new drug abusers, 73 per cent were caught for taking methamphetamine. 

Given this trend, NCADA wants to focus on young, first-time users who use methamphetamine, Mr Firdaus said.

Young people consume the drug for various reasons. For example, some use it to stay awake. Others believe it will help them lose weight, he noted.

Mr Firdaus hopes the film will spark conversations about drugs. 

There are signs that it is making an impact. 

Mr Firdaus said that previews of the film in January, attended by more than 5,000 students from Singapore Polytechnic and two Institute of Technical Education colleges, had inspired students who have their own “raw and personal” stories to tell. For instance, one student recounted during a post-film discussion that he had lost a friend to drug addiction.

Mr Firdaus said: “Hopefully, from the conversations and from the information, the youth can make better-informed decisions about drugs.”