Ross Fraser of IDTV Film says that for him,"Roes’ was genuinely one of the best film or drama projects in recent years. Although things were sometimes complicated because of the involvement of the VPRO and Trimbos, at the same time, it was great fun. For the VPRO the outcome was a successful TV series, for Trimbos it achieved the desired effect, and for IDTV it was a spawning ground for young film-makers, writers and directors. " |
'Roes': Exciting and yet preventativeTry to get youngsters to become aware of the consequences of excessive alcohol and drug use by means of an exciting TV series? No small task. Yet broadcaster VPRO and film producer IDTV together with the Trimbos Institute succeeded in doing so with the series ‘Roes’ [Rush]. Seven directors and nine script-writers were involved in creating a total of eleven episodes for this youth series. |
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Roes was broadcast in spring 2008 on the Nederland 3 network. The series drew on average 210, 000 viewers per episode. Thousands were also able to follow it on Internet. For the script evaluation and production design Trimbos supplied the required information about alcohol and drugs and achieving behaviour change. IDTV and the VPRO provided the screenplays. read more >> |
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A number of scenes in Roes are quite confrontational. These include a group rape scene, conflicts with parents, rows with friends, an alcohol-fuelled striptease show.... but there is also a lot of humour, which means it doesn’t get too heavy. The end result is consequently very realistic. An effect study of the programme conducted by the University of Wageningen showed that young people enjoyed watching Roes. Those who followed several episodes realise that people in their own environment do not find excessive use of alcohol or drugs to be normal. This is an indication of a shift in values in this target group. On account of new legislation, it is no longer possible for the Trimbos Institute to engage in this sort of collaboration with the public broadcaster. There will therefore be no immediate follow-up to Roes. However, discussion material with suggestions for group debates has been made available for secondary schools. And the series can be ordered on DVD from www.trimbos.nl.
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'Mental resilience gaining in importance'"According to Anke Wammes, communications advisor with the Trimbos Institute and project initiator, Roes has been able to show young people that setting your own standards for alcohol and drugs does not mean you are a loser. Hopefully the series has been able to make a contribution to the mental resilience of youngsters who are exposed to peer pressure. "
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