‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’: SA actress Embeth Davidtz talks about working with a 7-year-old actor
The movie is out in cinemas.
947’s Anele and The Club chat to South African-American actress Embeth Davidtz who wrote the screenplay, directs and stars in the movie.
Listen below:
Her latest film project, ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs’ is an adaptation of Alexandra Fuller’s memoir.
It tells the story of eight-year-old Bobo on her family’s Rhodesian farm during the final stages of the Bush War and into its pivotal 1980 election.
It explores the family’s bond with the land as well as the war’s impact on the people through Bobo’s perspective.
947’s very own Anele Mdoda and Frankie du Toit were the executive producers of the film.
“The whole point of it is, let’s show what happens when children sit there and listen to adults talk in a certain way.”
– Embeth Davidtz, actress, writer and director
“There are so many complexities that we brush over when it comes to hard issues… Those themes are universal across our lives regardless of which situation we are in.”
– Frankie du Toit, co-executive director
It is a big moment for seven-year-old Lexi Venter (Bobo), who made her big-screen debut.
While working with child actors can be tricky, it was about observing her and finding new ways to work with her, says Davidtz.
“I had to have a kid that had never acted before… My thing with her was never to learn a line, throw a line at her... We are capturing behaviour, we are not capturing acting.”
– Embeth Davidtz, actress, writer and director
“She’s telling her truth… but she’s also funny, she’s honest, she says the wrong thing because she’s there just no filter on her.”
– Embeth Davidtz, actress, writer and director
Watch the film’s trailer below: