A seven-year-old girl’s dream of becoming an actress came true after landing a lead role in the dark fantasy action film titled Death Angel.
Marley Valentine, a bubbly Grade 2 learner from Seaview Primary School in Mitchells Plain, plays the role of an angel named Innocence, who the Death Angel must protect in order for her to complete the prophecy by leading God's army to victory.
The local movie is produced by the award winning Touched By Style Community Arts Projects and Films (TBS) and Marley says she was approached by the co-founder Nic Matthee for the role.
“Uncle Nic watches and likes my videos on Facebook and asked my mommy if I can play the lead role in this production,” she explains.
“This is my first production and I feel pretty nice, I always wanted to do acting and now I am an actress.”
She says the movie set was very realistic.
“When I first entered the set, I almost thought everything was real.”
Marley loves horror movies, and her favourite character is Pennywise from the movie IT.
Marley, who does karate at Kaizen Martial Science Academy in Rocklands, impressed the creative team with her explosive energy and martial arts skills.
Proud dad, Rick-Lee Valentine, says: “I love action movies and she regularly watches movies with me so it's exciting to see her take on a challenge of starring in this intense storyline and I hope it opens more doors for her.“
“Uncle Nic” says they had nine hopefuls but took a leap of faith by casting Marley.
“This is the first time we have considered introducing a 7-year-old child actress in a film of this calibre mixing elements of action, horror and thriller all in one.”
The film is set to be released on 28 March 2024 on the Touched by Style community arts YouTube channel.