We chat to the lead lady of the short film Sweetheart
CCT : Lead actor of a short film. Now there’s pressure and privilege rolled into one. What were some of the techniques you used to get into your unusual role? And has the experience widened your scope?
Inge : I would not want to give too much of the story away by answering that question but I will say that I am very grateful for being offered the opportunity to play such an unusual but frustrating character as my first official lead. I like the deep end. It was hard in the sense that I had to retain SO much information throughout the entire movie and I had to suppress Inge the whole time because she would have been way more hard core in her approach to Sweetheart’s pain. I am not a mother so I don’t know what it feels like to have two boys or an emotionally unavailable husband and because my character remains ignorant about her true nature and goal till right near the end I had to underact and underplay her constantly. I could relate to the notion of having my freedom taken away from me so I used that to drive me. An inversion of sorts. I really like Sweetheart and I wanted the viewer to root for her from the start. I tried to show a very innocent and soft side to her because all women are actually young girls and I wanted to distract the viewer and force them to focus on her character and sweetness even her depression more than her perceived plight. I also wanted to frustrate the viewer by being overtly submissive in her approach to life. She never wonders why the sky is blue. On her journey of self-discovery and ‘enlightenment’ she learns something very different. Sweetheart is a delicately layered film and i urge viewers to watch it at least twice to really ‘get it’. The reveal at the end of the movie makes sense of everything. In life so many women blindly follow a pre cleaved path through social and cultural conditioning that brainwash them into feeding the cat, the dog, the children and husband before feeding their own souls and quenching their desires. Sweetheart is about following your heart. In Kindness. This experience definitely widened my scope by narrowing it in the first place. I just want to learn. I have a lot more respect for the craft now.
CCT : The relationship between director and lead actor is a crucial one. Did you find it easy to follow direction/make suggestions working with Mike? (can elaborate here on his techniques, if they’ve differed to other directors techniques, or just how you felt about being on set together.)
Mike and I clicked from the start. We discussed Sweetie a lot leading up to the shoot. Her look and her vibe. On the actual shoot we had no time to properly rehearse or debate about her so he let me do my thing and I would ask him ‘Was that right? Should I try something else? He would steer me around scenes and suggest different approaches. One morning I had a total beginners panic attack because I was tired and nervous and feeling really unsure of myself but Mike was very sweet and patient and reassured me. I am working with Mike on a new project now along with the Australian jeweler Andrew Henson and stylist AnthenaLamberis on a 2 min concept video/music video. It will be beautiful. Stay tuned. This boy is talented!
We also chatted to the rest of the Sweetheart team. The main story will show you the way.
Short film, not small talk : Sweetheart tells (almost) all | Creative Cape Town
December 17th, 2010
[...] Inge : I would not want to give too much of the story away by answering that question but I will say that I am very grateful for being offered the opportunity to play such an unusual but frustrating character as my first official lead. I like the deep end. Read more… [...]