In THE HEX, a grieving girl unravels her murdered mother’s secrets connected to a witch doctor’s curse. She wants to put an end to this haunting hex by traveling to where it originated, but her journey casts her deeper into sinister depths.
We speak to the film’s star and producer, Mari Molefe van Heerden.Â
“The Hex†is a helluva good time – so much of it as a testament to the writing, directing and the performances. It all just comes together. It also feels unique, because it’s crafted by a group of talented women. How do you think it might have differed if it weren’t?
The Hex being my first feature that I produced, it is hard to imagine it being done in a different way. But, I can tell you working on a project that had a lot of female presence made the environment relaxed, understanding and I guess a bit calm. Â
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What does Reine Swart bring to the project, in your opinion?
Well, The Hex is Reine’s brain child and without her we wouldn’t have had a film. It was also her debut as director of a feature film and it all made it so exciting because we learned together and improved the script and the project as a whole with enthusiasm and drive. She is super hard working and a perfectionist at her work and that alone enhanced the film to a way better standard. Â
She would also be an actor’s director, I imagine, being that she’s an actor herself?
Yes, that where her journey began, an actor. And that specifically helped her to direct, because she knows and understands exactly how to get the performance she needs.
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Did she encourage your ideas, maybe even some improvisation?
It is a dream to work with Reine, because she appreciates my input and allows me to change and improve the film if need be. Â
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You’re also a producer on the project; what motivated your decision to move into producing?
Reine and I have been friends for many many years, and when she told me about this project we had a discussion on how I can get involved and then we decided that I could fit in perfectly as a producer.
Are you already looking at other projects you can both produce and act in?
Yes, this duo has a couple of great projects in the pipeline, that will only be revealed at a later stage.
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