For this to work our actors needed to embody the Saudi 80’s news anchor and field reporter in every way. How they looked, the way they delivered the news, their mannerisms, and pronunciation of English names. We supplied our casting director with hours of 80’s news footage featuring prominent Saudi news presenters, to share with our actors. It took three rounds of casting in Saudi and the UAE to find the right guys. Once we had our shortlist, it came down to facial hair. Both actors agreed to shave their traditional beards to nail the 80’s stache.

For the two farmers we kept it real. We hired two farm hands from the date farm we were shooting at. Neither had been in front of a camera before, and we didn’t tell them that this was a fake news report so we could keep their reactions and performance authentic.